The Final war
by spiderrock
Summary: Since the beginning up to this day the Grail Wars didnt have a real winner. For years Magus had killed each other in order to obtain this power and had led this world to destruction. Until now. Gaia says its enough! One final battle one final chance for masters to achieve their dreams and one final chance for the world to be saved. First season is over.
1. Prologue

The beginning

I never expected this to happen. I swear that if there was a way I could stop this without involving any of you, I would take it.

You all look at me in disbelief of what I just said. I can't blame you; I usually let others do the dirty work. I know you seven are waiting for an explanation, and I will give it to you.

Everything began with the Holy Grail. I was there when the three families decided to cooperate and create one, some 200 years ago. At the very beginning I didn't care about this so-called Holy Grail War. I only agreed to supervise their work as a favor for one of my students, Nagato Tohsaka.

I won't deny that all their preparations were impressive. Using Nagato's connections with the Church and the Mage's Association they were able to start their ritual in peace. As I said, I didn't care, as their only goal was to obtain access to the Root. That was such a boring goal in my opinion, but those are the magi for you.

I can sense some of you are offended by my words. I didn't meant to insult you, and after I finish you'll understand the reason I think that goal is useless.

As you know, that ritual was the beginning of what would be called the Holy Grail Wars. Well, I don't need to explain that, since every one of you had to fight in them. After I witnessed the first ritual I grew bored and continued my travel around the parallel words.

There is where I found each of you, and I must admit that the worlds in which you live are very interesting. But there are some worlds that weren't so lucky. Driven by with my curiosity I decided to explore these worlds and learn the reason for their destruction.

I see your faces and I can assume many of you understand why those worlds were destroyed.

Yes, it was the work of the Grail, centuries of war in those cases, but then I wondered, why hasn't there been a hero or a leader to put an end to those battles? I continued to search, I continued to see, and I found that there were indeed people who tried to stop it.

One of those cases began with a participant in the Fourth War desiring to be a Hero of Justice. Yes, one of you is the very image of him. He slew all of the other participants but realized that the Grail was tainted and that it couldn't grant his wish. He used his Servant to destroy it, though he failed as this only managed to destroy the Grail's container.

I could explain the reason why it was tainted, though a couple of you already know the answer and I don't have too much time.

The second who tried to destroy it was a boy searching to be a Hero of Justice as well, having inherited the ideals of the first man I mentioned. Even though he had neither the strength of his father nor any form of self-preservation, he managed to win the War and seemingly destroy the Holy Grail.

But the story doesn't end there. His acts did nothing to stop the War; it only made it change locations. This time it took place in Romania, a small city called Trifas in which two factions fought for the Grail. The War was different, as there were 14 Servants. The damages done to the earth were seen as an offense to Gaia. The world did the only thing she could. Alaya sent her dogs-the Counter Guardians-with a single order: eliminate magic. Gaia knew well enough that man's search for the Root would ultimately cause the destruction of the world, that why it begged Alaya to exterminate the source of his destruction. One of you seems to understand that what I'm saying is not as crazy as the others think.

Many tried to fight back but were killed without mercy. Men, women, and children alike fell to the Counter Guardians. It didn't matter who they killed, the only thing they saw were targets.

Eventually they eradicated magic, but in doing so they put the world in a stagnant state. Gaia didn't care; she only cared about her survival. A red-clad man with white hair and brown skin told me this story. It seems some of you know him. He disappeared not long after he finished the tale. I met him in every destroyed world and he would tell me the same story with a few variations in each one.

After learning this I feared that something similar could happen in my world of origin and I did the most stupid thing I could think of. I told everything to the Gaia of my realm, more specifically to one of her dogs.

The Counter Guardians returned to Gaia and told her what I said. She would act to prevent any more damage to the world and purge it of magic. I took the wrong approach; now you glare at me with eyes full of hatred. I admit I deserve it, but don't forget it was the magi who began all this.

Going back to the story, I began to think of a way out, and then I realized it: we needed a winner. In all the worlds there was never a winner, a real winner, who made a wish and ended the ritual. They destroy it, they reject it, they use it for their own benefit, but no one makes a true wish.

I stopped the Counter Guardians and asked for an audience with Gaia. Surprisingly she agreed. I proposed an option which would stop the slaughter of innocents and the Wars with one final fight. She deigned to use her power in creating the last War.

She'd create a real Grail, much more powerful than any one of you have seen, and let it choose the participants from the past, future, and present. 35 people were selected and divided into 5 factions. Gaia seemed happy and decided upon a special place for such a big battle, but she warned me that if a wish was not made the world would end. No matter who won, the winner could save it or use it to become a king. Regardless, a wish had to be made.

I agreed with this. I began to look at the competitors, and all of them appeared in the story that man told me. I had made another mistake; I just created a bigger battle that would once again have no winner.

If that happened, the purge would destroy everything and everyone. Then I remembered each one of you. You are what we normally call irregularities. You see, none of you exist in any other universe beside your own.

That gives all of you the possibility to interact with other worlds and influence them in ways you cannot even begin to imagine.

I united all of you here so you may become the sixth faction in this War. I want you seven to fight and win and wish for the world to forget the existence of the Grail. I want you to risk your lives to ensure world is not destroyed by the Counter Guardians and the Grail doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

I know what I'm asking for is not fair and you are welcome to curse me and hate me as I'm asking you to sacrifice yourselves for a world that is not your own. But I don't have a choice, each of you are Masters that managed to achieve things that none of the others would be capable of. So I'm asking you-no, for the first and last time in my life, I am begging you to save this dying world.

The seven figures didn't say anything. All of them were trying to understand the words the old man before them had just said. One of them walked to the man until he stood just a few steps away from him. His eyes turned a bright crimson hue.

"Tell me, when do we begin?"

* * *

To make sure This will a battle between six factions. Fate stay night. Fate Zero. Fate Extra. The two factions of Fate Apocrypha and One faction of Master from the world of Fanfic. I thank all the authors who lend me their OC and starting the next chap i will put their names and the Characters as this is only the Prologue. Thanks Deux Silences for the beta. So wish me gook luck and Review!


	2. Chapter 1 The Gathering

I don't own any characters except my own OC. The other OCs appearing in this story are property of the following authors:

Deux Silences - Atosaki Kurokawa

Suchbass - Kage

Nomorenamesleft - Yagami Kousuke

Count Valerian - Kirsche Von Einzbern.

Topographic Ocean - Breno Da Roche

AzarielKayras - Leo Wells

I thank you for lending them to me. Now, to the story!

* * *

Chapter 1: The Gathering

A girl with black hair, messy in the front and long at the back, wearing a denim summer dress found herself coming to in the cold, dark streets of a city she had never seen before. Atosaki Kurokawa slowly remembered how she had ended up like this. Back then, she'd awakened in a white room with six other people. Seven black chairs were found in front of her.

Atosaki recalled a boy perhaps a little older than her, clad in a striking red jacket. Besides that he wore a T-shirt and matching pants which complimented his short raven hair and eyes. A black glove concealed his left hand. He looked accustomed to all this as he took a seat.

There had also been a man with similar short, sooty hair wearing a white dress shirt along with a black tie, pants and shoes. He seemed to be in his twenties and displayed an annoyed expression as he seated himself near the boy.

Next was a third male, this one with dark brown hair and dead gray eyes. He had on a white shirt with a dark-colored tie and trench coat, a leather belt and a pair of gloves, pants and shiny dress shoes all in matching black. Even though he leaned casually against the wall, he showed such a serious face that Atosaki couldn't help but think he was a little scary.

She clambered into a seat near the young man with the red jacket as she continued to look at the others.

At her right side sat a blond boy with pale skin and blue eyes, a small scar traced under the left one. He was clothed in a black jacket and a bleached t-shirt with the words "Are You Alone" printed smack-dab in the middle, plus black sneakers and blue jeans. A silver cross on a chain dangled from the right pocket.

Behind her she saw another boy, this one with jet hair and eyes, dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt, a blue vest and denims. His left hand gripped a Japanese katana. He seemed rather calm, much like the red-jacketed boy.

On Atosaki's left was a girl with violet-streaked black hair, light skin and one purple eye and one blue eye. She was arrayed in a rather intimidating black, paramilitary-style ensemble under a silver-collared black cape with polished black boots featuring inch-high heels. Just like the shirt-and-tie man she seemed annoyed but paid moderate attention to something in front of her. Atosaki turned her head and realized there was a silvery-haired, bearded old man with a scar running over his left eye. He wore dark robes and held a black cane in his right hand.

"Welcome, young Masters," he finally said.

None of the seven people reacted in any way to his words. The magus seemed rather disappointed, but just for a second. He sighed and his expression turned dead serious as he began a heartfelt monologue. The girl could feel his sadness, his despair, and how much he really hated the fact the he was asking them to save his world. When the old man finished, she and the others remained silent. She couldn't deny that he was asking for something pretty crazy and very suddenly, and she didn't quite know how to answer his plea for help. Then the boy with the red jacket stood up and began walking to where the old man sat. She saw his eyes turn a bright crimson hue.

"Tell me, when do we begin?"

Atosaki was surprised, but she wasn't the only one—the others seemed it too, even the old man. Before he could answer, a voice interrupted him.

* * *

Emiya Kiritsugu never expected that he would find himself in a silver room with the same people his informants had found to be Masters in the Fourth Holy Grail War. Not only that, he realized he had neither his trusted Thompson Contender nor his Origin Bullets.

He looked at the people inside the room and did not try to converse with them. They did the same. Still, without words, he realized some of them were related to each other.

There was a priest his informants had identified as Kotomine Kirei, who stood near a man with a tailored maroon suit and brown, almost black hair known as Tohsaka Tokiomi. There had been rumors about the latter being Kirei's mentor in magic but after being chosen as a Master he'd left him. Still, in Kiritsugu's eyes, they seemed very friendly toward each other.

Then there was Matou Kariya. Kiritsugu could barely recognize the young man who now had almost half of his face disfigured and his hair turned ghost-white. Still it didn't surprise him; he knew that was how the magic of the Matous worked and assumed he became that way because he wanted the Grail. Feeling no pity, Kiritsugu only noticed how Kariya glared at Tokiomi.

In the left corner was a younger boy with black hair outfitted in a forest-green sweater and pants with a white shirt and yellow tie. Kiritsugu didn't have the slightest idea who he was or why he was there, but he could see fear in those eyes. Not because of him or the other Masters, because of a blond man wearing a stiff cobalt-hued coat standing near him. He knew his identity: Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. Kayneth ignored the boy and like Kiritsugu observed the room.

He peered at the right-hand corner and found a ginger-haired teenager wearing a purple jacket with a white t-shirt and jeans sitting with his head down. His eyes seemed lost and even though he was on the other side of the room, Kiritsugu detected the strong smell of blood coming from him. The worst part was his reaction at being in the room, he seemed bored. Being on guard like almost everyone there or fearful like that boy were understandable, but being bored was not. After observing him Kiritsugu could only conclude that this youth was either a killer or a madman. Exactly as he finished analyzing the six Masters, a voice rang out from nowhere and spoke:

Welcome. You seven are the Faction of Zero.

* * *

Inside a crimson-walled room, a white-haired, tan-skinned young man wearing a somber cassock and a red mantle sat in a black chair, looking at the six people trapped there. He was the sole survivor of an experiment that had happened in northern Europe. Some foolish magi developed it so they could have their own Holy Grail War, as they hadn't been selected to participate in the one from Fuyuki. The experiment went horribly wrong. Instead of seven Servants, only one appeared, and not only that, he had gained a real body. The Servant itself didn't understand how the magi before him had managed to achieve this, as if he cared, and after killing all those involved in the ritual he went on the move. His travels brought him to this room, and he found it all quite amusing as he continued to look at the other six inside.

After a while he decided that five of them were boring traditional mages There was only one he found interesting. He felt the man was a magus, but he carried a thick stench of blood and gunpowder. To him that alone was strange, as magi usually detested the use of weapons. Also, that coppery scent made him wonder about the man's bloodline, and if he was a freelancer or something similar. The person in question had a scarred face coupled with razor-sharp eyes. He wore leather pants and a black jacket with an orange V-neck t-shirt underneath. He stood up and walked to where he was resting on the ground.

"Hello, I am Kotomine Shirou, nice to meet you," he said with a fake smile.

The man opened his eyes and looked at him like he didn't want to answer, but he didn't have a reason not to.

"Kairi Sisigou," was his response, and he shut his eyes again and pretended to sleep.

Shirou returned to his seat and couldn't help but think that things would get interesting. Then what he had been waiting for finally happened when he heard a voice.

Welcome Masters, you are the Red Faction.

* * *

Leonardo Bistario Harwey has been raised to be a leader since birth. No, that was wrong; he had been raised to be a ruler. After all, his world of hundreds, perhaps thousands of years into the future needed a savior. It had entered a stagnant state and his family had claimed sixty percent of the globe. Magic still existed but in a lesser degree. There were no big families of magi or Magic Crests anymore, so any complex magic was gone and the search for the Root stopped. Even after the purge of Gaia, people with Magic Circuits were still born, but instead of using them in spells or rituals, the Harwey family used them to strengthen the different abilities humans possessed, like strength, speed, and reflexes.

In other words, with no more development they used what remained of magic in order to create a cage in which humanity could survive. The Harweys consolidated their power using the ignorance of the survivors to their advantage.

Leo looked at the other six people that like him stood within a golden room. By his side was his brother Julius, brooding like always. While being his brother in name, Leo didn't really feel anything toward the man. If nothing else he saw him as hired help. He also viewed this situation as a test for him to prove himself as a king. Even without knowing where he was or what was about to happen, he was sure he would be able to overcome it, the result of the idea that he was a superior being reinforced since birth. Then a voice was heard in the room, and he had to smile.

Welcome, Masters of the Future, you are the White Faction.

* * *

Emiya Shirou couldn't understand how he and the Masters he had fought in the Grail War were now in front of him. They were all there, including the child with silver hair he had seen die at the hands of Gilgamesh and the girl with twin ponytails wearing a red turtle neck whose Servant was a future version of himself. Even his school teacher, who was actually an assassin and died while protecting Caster, had returned.

He searched for a boy with blue hair who had been his friend, Shinji Matou, the Master of Rider, but he couldn't find him. In his stead was a girl with long, purple hair.

"Sakura?" he said sadly to his friend.

"Sen…pai?"

Fate was indeed a cruel mistress. Shirou had managed to avoid fighting her during the War because she had given Rider to Shinji, but this time around Gaia didn't allow it and forced her into being a true Master.

Before Shirou could think of something to say, he felt a sharp pain on the back of his left hand and watched with horror the stigma he thought was gone appear once again with a red glow.

"So this is the Grail War?" asked someone, stealing his thoughts.

Shirou looked for the owner of the voice and found a woman wearing a purple suit and black gloves. She had magenta hair and alabaster skin, with a mole under her left eye. He didn't know it, but her name was Bazett Fraga McRemitz. Shirou found himself unable to answer the question.

"Yes it is." Rin spoke with a solemn voice while looking at the woman.

"That can't be, Tohsaka," he finally said. "We destroyed the Grail!"

Rin shot him a troubled glare. She understood his feelings but there was nothing any of them could do, so she just lowered her gaze.

"Then everything we'd done was for naught?!" Shirou screamed as he fell to his knees.

Sakura walked up to him and consoled him along with Ilya and Rin. Bazett and Kuzuki ignored his outburst. No one noticed the dark, grinning figure in one of the corners.

Then a voice was heard in the room, much to Shirou's dismay.

Welcome, Masters of Fate, you are the Blue Faction.

* * *

Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia, the head of his family, considered one of the greatest magicians still alive, couldn't be happier when he found himself in that black room looking at the red sigil on his hand.

He was a man with long, turquoise-blue hair wearing a white vest and cape with black formal pants and shoes. Held in his hand was an ebony cane adorned with a golden snake that surrounded a blue gem on its top. While everybody who looked at him would concluded that he wasn't older than twenty years, in truth he had lived for more than a century.

In the last hundred years an interest had been born in his mind. After seeing the First and Second Holy Grail Wars in Fuyuki he couldn't stop himself from desiring the Grail. He had tried to steal it during the Third War seventy years ago, aided by the Nazis he'd promised to give a share of power so they could conquer the other countries, but he failed. In the end he was defeated by one of the Masters of that War and was unable to get his hands on the Grail.

But still, even with that failure he didn't really care. He had seen it, he knew how it worked and he believed that with all the resources at his disposal he could create another Grail with similar or even greater power. Yet even after seventy years he found himself unable to do it, but now he was in a black room from which emanated unspeakable power. He knew because of the Command Seals that he was about to fight for the Grail, but he knew this one wasn't the same he had tried to steal from the Einzberns. This was, by far, much more powerful, and he wanted it. He looked around the room. Even with its pitch-black walls, floor and ceiling he could see the other six people in it. He didn't bother to try to understand the reason behind such a phenomenon, as it didn't pique his interest.

Out of them five were part of his clan and almost all of them were replaceable, except for one girl in a wheelchair: the girl with long brown hair, Fiore. His little Fiore was the only one he considered worthy in the whole family of being his successor. He saw the boy behind her with short hair of the same color looking at his sister with eyes full of concern.

Darnic would always wonder how the two siblings could be so different. Fiore was a genius. Of course she had to pay the price for her power, her body ending up being crippled, but her brother was useless. The boy, Caules, didn't have any talent whatsoever, and Darnic expected little from him. If anything he wanted Fiore to cut ties with him, as in his eyes being with Caules would only hinder her progress. He began wondering about the reason for the seven of them to be reunited in this room. He could only guess that the rules of the War would change, but he knew the one about a single winner would never be altered. Darnic had no qualms about killing his own family since he saw them as disposable, but he could allow himself to spare his heir. Then a voice which would answer his questions was heard inside the room.

I greet you all as you officially become the Black Faction.

* * *

After giving its greetings, the voice was heard once more in the six rooms and while those confined within didn't know, it gave the same message.

I am Gaia, also known as the World.

You have all been chosen as Masters to participate in the Final Holy Grail War.

There are 42 Master and Servant Pairs divided into 6 Factions.

There are no rules. The fight will continue until only one Master remains.

I wish each of you good luck.

Atosaki looked at the old man, who now carried a shocked expression full of despair.

"No… It's too soon. I thought we had more time," he said.

He stared at the seven in front of him and whispered a phrase before disappearing.

"…" She didn't manage to hear him.

Then, one by one, the other six people in the room began to fade away just like the old man did. Atosaki found herself in a smaller room with a pentagram on the floor and an inscription on the wall.

Live or die by the sword, let your destiny be decided by this chant.

Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill. Repeat five times, but destroy each when filled. I hereby propose, my will shall create thy body and thy sword shall create my fate. Abiding by the summons of the Holy Grail, if thou dost accede to this will and reason, answer me! I hereby swear I shall be all that is good in the eternal world. I shall be the disposer of the evil in the eternal world. Thou, clad with the Great Trinity, come forth from the circle of constraint, Guardian of the Heavenly Scales!

Atosaki's Command Seal began to glow as she recited it. She didn't understand its meaning or know what would happen once she finished, but still she went on, almost compelled to; after all if what the old magus had said was true then she couldn't let this world die.

The circle glowed and from it emerged a man attired in a black full-body suit, with a blue and white fur pelt slung over his right shoulder and a dark visor covering his eyes. He had pure white skin and ultramarine hair tied back in a long tail that ended with blood-red tips. Her eyes widened. It was someone she knew very well.

"Lance!" she cried as she jumped up and embraced him. The man hugged the petite girl back and even when he appeared to show no emotion, it seemed he was happy to see her. He had been Atosaki's Lancer-Class Alter Servant in her world, and once again he came to her aid.

Then the room crumbled and she found herself in the streets of a city. This was the present. It had been two hours since she started walking around. She didn't know where she was and with no money or supplies she didn't have many options. Lance had turned into spirit form, which she didn't even know he could do. The strangest thing was that in those two long hours she hadn't seen a single person.

"Hey there, missy." She heard a voice coming from behind her.

Atosaki turned and found a man with spiky blue hair wearing a red shirt and black pants. He had a smile that make her shiver in fear.

"Hello. …Who are you?"

"Apologies, the name is Gene Rum. I'm a freelancer, also known as the Storms Treads."

"Freelancer? Storm Treads?"

"Yes." He raised his left hand and show her his command seal in the form of three lightning bolts. "Kill her, Lancer."

"Alright," she heard a monotone voice reply.

In that very instant, at his left side appeared a man with long white hair wearing black-and-golden armor with a bright ruby centered in the chest and a red fur that flowed like a cape on his shoulders. He raised his arm and a long golden staff appeared in his hand. There was no blade on top, only something shaped like a sun. Then he lowered it.

Suddenly Atosaki found herself in Lance's arms and situated on one of the rooftops of a house nearby.

"Lance, what…?" She didn't finish. There was a large slash on the spot where she had been standing only a few seconds ago.

"Not bad," Gene praised, "but that's not enough."

The moment he finished, Lance materialized his red spear, Gáe Bolg, to block the attack of a second, green-haired man. His strength was such that it sent Lance and his Master flying before they crashed into the asphalt.

"Hey, Rider, I was here first," complained the Lancer with white hair.

"I don't care, just following orders," he answered.

"Whatever. I'll just have to finish this before you can."

Lancer's right eye began to glow red just as Lance stood up and pushed Atosaki behind him.

"Bramasthra!" yelled Lancer as he fired a wide vermillion-tinted beam toward the pair.

Atosaki understood that she and Lance were going to die, and so soon after their reunion too; they didn't have a way to block or dodge the energy ray before it reached them. Such a powerful attack would surely reduce them to ashes. She closed her sad brown eyes, holding Lance from behind, and prepared for the impact. A second passed, and then another and the attack never reach them. She opened her eyes and saw the boy with the red jacket from before, along with a blonde girl wearing a red dress wielding a peculiar sword of the same color. Then Atosaki realized that they were encircled by fire.

"Hey, are you alright?" the boy asked without looking at her.

She could only nod at his words.

"My name is Edward Hellhound, and this is Saber."

"Praetor, you shouldn't say those things. She is a Master."

"Don't worry, she is an ally."

He turned to her and the spearman. "Isn't that right?" he added with a smile.

"Y-yes! My name's Atosaki. Atosaki Kurokawa."

Edward looked to the blue-haired enemy and his Servant while Saber smiled at the green-haired Servant with excitement.

"I don't know who you are, but I will show you hell. Black Seal 30% unleashed!"

Atosaki saw how his left arm was suddenly covered by flames, and when they died down it had turned into a menacing red claw. The only thing she knew was that the War had begun.

Master Remaining: 42

Servants Remaining: 42

Okay, first chapter is done. I needed to change the background of some characters so they could all exist in the same world. Leo and the characters from Extra are in this world as survivors of Gaia's Purge, which proves what Zelretch had thought without the six Factions there is no clear winner again and everything goes to hell. Well, please review. I welcome bad and good opinions.

Just want to say that I think spiderrock is doing an outstanding job so far. This is such a great idea in my opinion, and I'm excited to see how this will all unfold. I hope you enjoyed this chapter so far. It was a joy for me to work on. –Editor


	3. Chapter 2 Guardians

I don't own any characters except my own OC. The other OCs appearing in this story are property of the following authors:

Deux Silences - Atosaki Kurokawa

Suchbass - Kage

Nomorenamesleft - Yagami Kousuke

Count Valerian - Kirsche Von Einzbern.

Topographic Ocean - Breno Da Roche

AzarielKayras - Leo Wells

I thank you for lending them to me. Now, to the story!

* * *

Chapter 2: Guardians

Two hours ago:

After hearing the words of the voice and realizing the fact he had to beat forty-one other Masters, Kiritsugu found himself in a luxurious room that reminded him of one of many in which he had lived along with his wife and daughter for the last ten years. He began to inspect the room; all his equipment was there, even his Contender. Normally he would have wondered how this could be possible, but right now he didn't care.

Inscribed on the floor of the room was a magic circle and at its edge was a relic the elders of the Einzberns had sought for many months: Avalon. He inspected the circle, making sure everything was in order, and proceeded to summon his Servant. Black light filled the room, and when it faded the figure he saw inside the circle was not what he expected. Before him stood a shadowy-armored swordsman with blond hair and a black visor covering his face. He wielded a dark sword decorated with red runes on the blade, so Kiritsugu concluded he was a Saber.

"Are you my Servant?"

The Servant just nodded.

He decided that asking anything else would be pointless so told him to take on spirit form. Kiritsugu then walked to the bed where his equipment lay, not bothering to put up his guard as he believed that if the Servant wanted to kill his Master, he would've already done it.

After placing his Contender within the inner pocket of his coat and taking his Calico M960 in hand, Kiritsugu decided to make his next move and check the place out. He exited the room and with each step saw how much it really resembled the Einzbern castle. He arrived at a living room and found that five of the other participants were already there.

"I understand we need to create a temporary alliance between the members of our group, but I think that magi of our level shouldn't associate with trash like the Tohsakas," Kayneth said while looking at Waver and Kirei.

Kiritsugu knew that magi were stupid and prideful, but even he was surprised by the words coming from the heir of the Archibald family. While Kayneth discussed something with Tokiomi, Kirei and Waver, Kariya just sat in one of the chairs while observing Tokiomi alone.

"Kayneth-dono, I can't speak for the abilities of that boy," said Tokiomi while pointing at Waver, "but for three years Kirei-kun had been my apprentice, and I can say he'd make a very valuable asset to our cause."

Kirei bowed in front of Kayneth at these words, though he didn't like the blond man. Kayneth was obviously proud and arrogant, and he could tell he had little prior battle experience. Moreover, he deduced that the man before him saw only the value in magical powers of the present and not the rest of his abilities. In a real fight there were many factors to take into account, and the one considered strongest did not always win. Of course, Kirei would not say this to Kayneth.

"…I don't see anything special about him, Tohsaka." Kirei stood and took out his Black Keys. "Would you like a demonstration?"

"Oh? You think you can last even a second against me?" Kayneth answered, amused, removing a little glass vial from his pocket.

Tokiomi didn't bother to stop them, sure that if any of them were truly endangered their Servants would appear. He and Waver began backing away to give the priest and the magus some space. Before anything happened the sound of a gun going off was heard by all present.

They turned to see the Magus Killer with his Calico pointed at the roof. Kiritsugu had no real reason to stop them, but he did so due to a very basic instinct that some magi forgot in their illusions of invincibility: survival. There were forty-two pairs total, and though he wasn't fond of the idea, he something to fight for. If he was going to make his wish, he would need the others in that room. They were merely tools he'd utilize to fight until only his faction remained. Then and only then would they be free to fight amongst themselves. He would use them and then kill them, all to achieve his goal, all to save the world.

"Stop this nonsense!" he ordered.

"The magus killer," sneered Kayneth while glaring at him.

"Emiya Kiritsugu," said Kirei.

"Tokiomi is right," he replied. "We need to make an alliance until the other five factions are defeated."

"Wise words, Magus Killer. No wonder my lord believed you to be the leader of this group."

Those there swiveled around to see a man with long silver hair and eyes, wearing a butler's uniform.

"I am Aldebaran. I was selected by Gaia to supervise the Faction of Zero."

None dared say a word. They didn't sense anything special about the butler, but their instincts told them otherwise. A single wrong move could mean death. Still, Kayneth took his chances.

"Fervor Mio Sanguis!" he yelled as ten liters of mercury came forth from the vial in his gloved hand.

The mercury transformed into a spiked ball and locked onto the silver-headed man. However, before the Mystic Code could be used, Kayneth was smashed into the floor by what seemed like a strange force. He tried to use his magic, but it was useless. Waver understood almost immediately.

"The… power of … gravity?"

"Yes. I forgot to tell you I'm the third strongest Counter Guardian at Gaia's service." Aldebaran answered with a grin.

* * *

Even in the city's center, the clash of weapons could be heard from far away. Atosaki saw her Servant now engaging the white-haired spearman who, after firing off that red energy beam, decided to fight without using his weapon. Edward had ordered Saber to fight against the green-haired Servant while he continued to look at Gene with narrowed crimson eyes.

"How do you find her?" he asked at the magus.

Gene smile grew so wide that he looked like a madman. He raised his hand and a spiraling air vortex began to form.

"Tempête," he announced as it shot out.

At this Edward called forth his blade into his hand and concentrated flames on the edge. He swung it before the tornado could land.

"Crimson Inferno!"

The clash between fire and wind made the Lancers stop for a second and look at the Masters, Lance out of concern for Atosaki and Lancer of Red because he couldn't help but feel interested by the boy's flames. He felt something evil emanating from them, but the boy seemed able to maintain control. Seconds passed and Gáe Bolg smashed against the golden forearm of his armor.

On the roof a nearby house, Saber and Rider continued their fight.

"Your Master seems strong," Rider said as he swung his golden spear at Saber's exposed neck.

"Of course! Only someone like him is worthy of being my Master!" she answered as she parried the attack with her large sword.

Rider just smiled at her words while thrusting his weapon at her chest, only for Saber to stop the spearhead a few inches away. He recognized that the girl before him was strong and began to think that the air of superiority she exuded wasn't a bluff, unlike many people he had met in life.

"Please don't insult me, Rider!" Saber yelled.

"What do you mean?" he asked while pulling back his spear.

"Fight me seriously. If you don't, then it is not only an insult towards me but also my Praetor, and that is something I would never forgive," she said with a scowl.

The Rider laughed and held his spear at the ready.

"I apologize for that, then. Here I come!" he said as he dashed at her.

* * *

Emiya Shirou found himself lying on the floor after having been hit by some redheaded man. The mansion surrounding him somewhat resembled both the Tohsaka's and the Matou's. He started searching for Rin because he didn't know how to summon a Servant. To partake in this War he'd need one, and he couldn't let it be weak because of a bad summon. Upon locating his friends, he found that neither she nor Sakura had summoned theirs yet, so Rin agreed to help him. Thus, a ritual began and ended, and the moment he saw his Servant, he couldn't be happier as he was able to meet her once again.

"Tell me, are you—" Saber wasn't allowed to finish. Shirou hugged her and she allowed herself to smile at their reunion.

While Shirou explained to Saber the situation, Rin helped Sakura with her summon.

"Saber, would you be my sword once again?"

"Of course, Shirou. I swore I would be your blade and shield."

Shirou smiled at her words and told her to follow him, noticing it was night already. They needed to move fast to avoid innocents getting involved. He ran out of the room and toward the entrance of the house, assuming it would be built like Rin's. His assumption proved right, but near the entrance he came across a man with red hair wearing scarlet and gold full-body armor with the crest of a scorpion on his chest and its stinger crossing his left shoulder.

"Sorry, Emiya Shirou. I need to talk with you and the rest of your group," he spoke.

"I don't have time to listen to you!" he yelled as he traced the twin swords Kanshou and Bakuya.

"Then I can't let you pass," said the man as a red dagger appeared in the air and flew at Shirou's shoulder.

It happened so fast that Saber's Master hit the floor before she even had time to react.

"Shirou!" the female knight cried while looking at her wounded master, then moving at amazing speed to reach the armored man. She swung her invisible sword, but it didn't reach him. Two more daggers showed up over his head and blocked Excalibur's attack.

"What?!"

The knight looked at Saber with cold eyes before pushing her back with the daggers. "Calm down, Servant, I only defended against your Master's attack."

Saber didn't believe him and readied herself to strike again when she was stopped by a voice she recognized well.

"Don't do it, Saber. Neither you nor the idiot are a match for him."

She turned to see a red-cloaked Servant along with his Master standing behind them. "Archer."

Archer walked past her and stood before the man in armor.

"Long time no see, Hero-san," said the knight.

"Antares!" Archer seemed slightly taken aback. "What in the world could you be doing here?!"

"You should know never to yell at me, Hero-san."

"Archer, who is that guy?" Rin asked. "Is he a Servant?"

"He is, but at the same time he isn't."

"I am Antares, leader of the Counter Guardians. I was assigned by Gaia to supervise you, the Blue Faction."

"I see. Since this War has so many Masters, the World had some of her dogs watch over us magi so we don't cause too much trouble," Rin concluded as she helped Shirou stand.

"Rin don't talk like that. Antares is the strongest of the Counter Guardians. No one has been able to match him his whole life."

"How do you know that, Archer?"

"Because Hero-san is also a dog of Gaia, little miss," said Antares.

Rin looked at Archer with eyes wide open while he glared at the armored knight.

* * *

Edward was beginning to lose count of how many times his flames had clashed against Gene's cyclones. He could have used more power, but he was afraid of destroying the surrounding houses. Even though he hadn't seen a single person since being transported into the city, he felt a need to be careful. Normally he could control his flames to the point of using them without causing collateral damage, but because the enemy used wind magic his flame moved erratically with the air currents.

"Okay, enough of this!" declared Edward.

Gene smirked, assuming those words meant the boy before him was losing his composure. There was no greater fallacy of thought than that. Gene saw a towering spectral arm appear over Edward's head, holding a sword that looked like the one he'd been fighting the entire time.

"Now take this!" he yelled as he lowered it.

Gene attempted to stop it with his tornados, but to no avail. The gigantic sword sliced cleanly through them. He barely managed to move fast enough to dodge the blade, still thrown off by the pressure of the slash.

Lancer of Red watched this while dodging another thrust from Lance mid-air. He landed and took a good look at him.

"I admit that you are strong, but it seems my Master needs my help, so I guess I need to finish this."

In that moment Lancer disappeared and Lance's head snapped back with a kick to the chin before being thrown skyward. He looked down and saw the white-haired Servant beneath him.

"Dammit," he would say if he had the ability to speak.

The spearman was sent hurtling through the atmosphere, and when he finally lost some momentum the other Lancer was in front of him with spear at the ready. From the ground Atosaki wasn't able to see the blade of the golden spear for it was black as night, but Lance could and readied his weapon to block Karna's incoming attack.

He swung at Lance with both hands. The moment both spears collided he felt a strange resistance, as if there was a barrier in between them, still it was enough to throw Lance down into the streets.

"Lance!" Atosaki screamed, pained by seeing this.

"Atosaki-san, go after him," said Edward. "I'll cover you."

Another crash sounded nearby.

"Saber!" It was his turn to worry.

"Hey, you told me to fight seriously," Rider said. "Is that all you got?"

"Bastard! It was just a lucky shot." Saber yelled while rising from the crater she'd made.

"Saber, calm down!"

Edward made the mistake of taking his eyes away from the blue magus who had been lying on the ground.

Gene used the opportunity to create a tornado around his legs, giving him the thrust of a high-powered rocket. In less than a second he was in between Edward and Atosaki. Before the latter could react, he launched a kick at her face.

She managed to throw one arm up and mumbled a spell while drawing with her free hand's forefinger the letter "M", the word "Ehwaz" spoken before his foot made impact. There was enough force in the strike to send her crashing through the upper window of a two-level house across the street.

"You bastard!" Edward yelled as he grabbed the man with his ethereal hand. "Be purged by fire… Crimson Gauntlet!"

He heard how loud the man howled when he was engulfed by the flames, careful enough that he wouldn't kill him by accident. He released Gene when he lost consciousness. The shock and pain of being burned alive had him knocked out cold. The worst he had were first degree burns covering his body, along with some grade II burns around his arms.

"Atosaki-san, you alright?!" Edward shouted.

"Y-yes… It sounds bad out there," said her voice from past the rubble. "Just give me a second…"

He sighed in relief, but before he could move he whipped around with his sword in order to block Rider's spear.

"Well, I guess you are stronger than Saber."

Edward could feel the ground under him cracking due to the weight of the blow. It was only a matter of time before his blade faltered and the spearhead impaled him.

"Black…" He didn't finish. Rider's knee connected with his cheekbone, sending him reeling back to the wall of a house. He saw Saber land in front of him with a face full of rage.

"Rider! No one threatens my Praetor."

Meanwhile, Atosaki rose unsteadily and inspected the room where she'd been thrown. It had painted blue walls with white carpeting, a matching closet and a queen-size bed. She moved closer and what she saw left her speechless. There were two people, a young man and woman, sleeping soundly on the mattress, but it was no regular slumber. After all that noise and destruction they should have woken up. However, they remained asleep. Wrong… They had been forced to sleep. She tried to understand how this happened and then realized that carelessness could mean death for these people. She stumbled over to the broken window.

"Edward-san!" she called from above.

The crimson-eyed boy created a small red claw and used it as a hook to climb up while Saber continued the fight in his stead.

"What's wrong? The Master is down, but neither your Servant nor mine can win against those two."

"Look…"

He saw what she had found, and his rage suddenly became palpable.

"Then this was the feeling I had," he said as he clenched his fists.

"Who did this?"

"Most likely Gaia."

"But why?!"

He didn't want to answer, feeling only repulsion at the idea.

"So we could fight without distraction. To make us believe that the city was empty."

He grabbed her by the waist and jumped out of the house, ready to make an escape to minimize collateral damage.

"Saber, we are leaving!"

The red swordswoman nodded, but the moment she did, Rider raced past her and aimed his spear at the two Masters. While holding Atosaki, Edward couldn't fully fight, so he needed to at least block the initial attack.

"Tessu no kabe, sōgyō no tō, shakutetsu keikei, tanzen toshite tsuini oto nashi."

He heard someone reciting what he thought was a spell and decided to gamble on it. He summoned his spectral hand and used it to stop the spear for a couple seconds, and that was enough.

"Gochūtekkan!" a voice yelled.

Five pillars of steel fell from the sky and dropped around Rider like a cage.

Lancer of Red was distracted watching this, and that gave Lance an opening. He charged him and aimed his spear tip at the opposing Lancer's left eye. Still, Lancer managed to dodge him but acquired a small gash on the right side of his face.

That wasn't all. While trying to get around Lance, he failed to notice the petite Saber in back who swung her blade at his left side. Lancer was sent flying toward the entrance of a house. He got up almost instantly and saw the red swordswoman and the blue spearman pointing their weapons at him. He looked at where his Master lay and decided that this was enough for the night. He moved faster than the eye could see, grabbing his Master before fleeing the scene. Neither of the Servants had enough energy to follow him.

Atosaki looked on from overhead, amazed, at the steel pillars restraining Rider.

"Did you do that?" Atosaki asked Edward.

"No, he did it," he said with a smile while pointing at a young man dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt, a blue vest and denims, gripping a Japanese katana with his left hand. Behind him was a girl whose pink hair was styled in short twin tails. She had a pair of fox ears and a fluffy tail and wore a blue, traditional ero-kimono and matching geta, plus a necklace with a mirror for a pendant to finish it all off.

Edward reached the ground and let Atosaki go.

"Hey there," he said to the newcomer.

"Hello. I guess you don't know me. I'm Yagami Kousuke, and this is Caster," he said, pointing at the girl behind him.

"I'm Edward, Edward Hellhound, and she's Atosaki Kurokawa. I'm the Master of Saber and her Servant is a Lancer."

"Thank you for your help, Kousuke-san," said Atosaki with a courteous smile.

"You're very welcome."

"So how long can this keep him at bay?" Edward asked.

"Well, Caster is helping me reinforce the bakudo, but I don't think it will last long since it's not made to hold Servants."

"I was afraid you would say that. Atosaki, go take care of Lancer." He then turned to Kousuke. "Kousuke, Caster, can either of you create a barrier so our attacks don't destroy any of the houses?"

Kousuke looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Caster can, but why? I thought the city was empty."

Edward told him he was wrong and reported what Atosaki had discovered. To say Kousuke was shocked would be an understatement, but before he could answer the five pillars shattered, and in front of them stood a raging Rider. Kousuke drew his sword as the other Servants got ready to fight. The Rider just grinned in anticipation, thinking this would be fun.

"Alright play time is over, weaklings, now I'm gonna be serious!"

Saber and Lance moved to their Masters so they wouldn't get harmed. There were two reasons Rider didn't retreat like Lancer: first because he was a man who enjoyed fighting and the other was that he didn't feel he'd lose. He took a step forward. All three Servants were ready and on guard. They could feel he was no normal Rider, rather, some sort of beast. Even after fighting Saber so long he didn't have a single wound and seemed not at all tired. He was about to charge when he felt something that forced him back.

"A Command Spell?" His anger mounted, but he couldn't resist. "You are all lucky my Master is a coward!"

With that said, the green-haired Servant disappeared. Edward sighed and took a seat on the blacktop. He looked at Atosaki and Lance, and then he observed Saber. All of them looked tired.

"Atosaki-san, how are you doing? Sorry I asked a little late."

"Don't worry about before. I protected myself with the Ehwaz rune. My healing took care of the rest."

"Ehwaz rune?" asked both Edward and Kousuke.

"Uh-huh, it reinforces objects. In this case, I used it on my dress so I could handle the kick and the impact. Lance taught me how to use it. Right, Lance?" His Master smiled as he put an arm around her small shoulders.

"Goshujin-sama," said Caster to Kousuke after a moment, "we need to get going."

"Eh? Wait, alone? We should stick together," Atosaki said.

"I know… but I feel another presence coming here."

"Calm down, it's an ally; and she has already arrived."

They all heard a rumble of thunder and turned up their faces as a man wearing silver and black armor with blond hair, a pair of brown leather gloves and a hammer in his right hand.

before space distorted beside him and the caped woman from before appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The Servant reverted to spirit form upon noticing Edward and Atosaki having made Saber and Lance turn into spirit form as well, though this was so they could rest for a while with the only servant who remained materialized was Caster.

The three masters looked at the young woman with violet-streaked black hair. "I love magic." She said smugly while tucking a device of some kind into a pocket before turning to them.

"Hello my name is Kirsche von Einzbern. Nice to meet you all." She said while making a small bow and making it clear that true to her name she was clearly a noblewoman from high society.

"You were with us in that white room," Kousuke pointed out.

"Indeed. I was brought there by that godforsaken old man." She didn't raise her voice but the three could tell she didn't like the old man by the tone. None of them really did, but it seemed her case was a little different.

"Excuse me, I'm wondering, how did you find us?" Atosaki asked.

"With this," Edward answered for her as he made a few small orange globes appear around him.

"Fire Familiars! I haven't seen them in a long time," said Caster.

"I call them Ghost Fire. Before we were transported from that room, I put one near all of us, just in case."

"Yes," said Kousuke. "It helped me find you two."

"And I really appreciate the help." Edward smiled at him then turned to Kirsche "Did you enjoy the show?"

"I do not know what you are talking about," she said, addressing him with a suspicious smile. "I just got here guided by your little familiar, Hellhound."

"Yeah, right. You know I can feel them wherever they are, right?"

"…I see."

He just sighed and stood up.

"So what's the plan?" Atosaki asked.

"We could create an alliance between us for now," Kousuke said while putting his sword back in its sheath.

"That's not a bad plan," commented Kirsche.

"Or we could get some answers," Edward said.

"What do you mean?" asked the other young man.

"I said I put my Ghost Fire on everyone that was present in that room. That includes the old guy, and I can still feel the one near him."

The other three looked at him, very surprised.

"So? Shall we go?"

Two of the others nodded immediately, but Kirsche was silent. "If Gaea is behind this getting answers might prove difficult." She pointed out. "If Counter-Guardians try to stop us, then I want all of you to get back."

The others immediately raised eyebrows and Caster asked "Are you suggesting that you can fight a Counter-Guardian?"

Kirsche just smiled. "Magi bend the rules of the world to make miracles happen. Counter-Guardians enforce those rules…but me…depending on what I want the world just gets out of the way. It's a last resort of course, but still…"

"In that case if Counter-Guardians stand against us we'll leave them to you." Caster said, and Kirsche nodded.

"That would be wise." She agreed.

* * *

Standing within the nave of a church was a white-haired priest. Seated behind him were four people to whom he paid little attention, since he had everything he needed. He looked at the four Command Seals beside his own.

A voice made him turn around. "Rider won't be happy that you messed with his fun."

"He will understand, I hope. I am also very intrigued by how much help you have given me."

He looked at the woman who had stolen him from his thoughts. She was a pale-skinned blonde wearing a flowing white dress.

"I simply want to make sure my faction wins. On top of that, I want this War to be interesting."

"I understand, Supervisor of the Red Faction, Counter Guardian Pleiades," Kotomine Shirou said with a smirk.

* * *

In order to answer a question The place of the battle shall be reveal it in the next chapters.

What do you think about the Counter Guardians and their names. Any suggestion for the Surpervision for the Faction of OC.

still Review and help me make this story better.


	4. Chapter 3 Reunion

I don't own any characters except my own OC. The other OCs appearing in this story are property of the following authors:

Deux Silences - Atosaki Kurokawa

Suchbass - Kage

Nomorenamesleft - Yagami Kousuke

Count Valerian - Kirsche Von Einzbern.

Topographic Ocean - Breno Da Roche

AzarielKayras - Leo Wells

I thank you for lending them to me. Now, to the story!

* * *

In the middle of the city, a blond boy with pale skin and blue eyes and a small scar under the left one fought for his life. His name was Leo Wells, and he had never been what one would call normal. Many times during his life he found himself in weird situations, and being attacked by a pink-haired girl wearing a wedding dress and electrodes on her head stood somewhere in the middle of them. To make matters even worse, she wielded a heavy club with a rounded metal head, which he identified as a historical mace.

She was fast, and the boy could barely dodge because of her sloppy, almost drunken movements. He'd found himself at the top of a building along with his Servant a few hours ago. Since the door to the lower floor was closed, he broke it down and went outside from there. He walked for a while until he arrived at a sprawling plaza. His Servant remained silent during their travel, and then he spotted a plain-looking boy who had a brown head of hair, glasses, a dignified white jacket and black pants with matching shoes. The boy looked at him, surprised.

"So there was another one." He sighed. "I'm sorry about this, but... Berserker!"

Without warning the Servant appeared and swung her mace in an attempt to crush his skull. He moved a few steps to the left and managed to avoid the impact. Still, the mace's striking end landing on the floor created a huge shockwave that sent him scrabbling. The girl continued to assail him with attacks, powerful and fast, but he was faster, even if only by a narrow margin. Regardless, at this rate he knew that it wouldn't take long until he found himself flattened beneath her weapon.

Then it happened, he reacted a little too late, and that meant death. Though he had restorative capabilities compared to high speed regeneration, if his head was destroyed he would be unable to recover. Luckily, the mace didn't reach him. Somehow the girl was knocked back and fell right beside the boy wearing glasses.

Leo saw it all. In less than a second his Servant had appeared behind the girl and kicked her using every bit of strength he had.

"And here I thought you would just stand there," he said with a smirk.

"His Servant?" the bespectacled youth questioned as he looked at the man wearing brown-green armor with short, chestnut hair smirk back at his master.

Caules had believed the boy before him didn't have a Servant, as he fought his by himself. That was obviously wrong. He helped Berserker stand while looking at what seemed to be an Archer.

"Well, we managed to trick them, and after that kick I'm pretty sure I can take her, Leo," the Servant said while offering to help his Master stand. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Archer."

Leo took his hand and got up, not completely trustful of the man before him. However, he appreciated that he didn't ask permission all the time and didn't act as if his Master was his owner. Still, he missed his old Servant.

"Telemachus," the Servant said in a whisper as an old bow appeared in his right hand.

Archer raised it, aiming at the pair before he was stopped by an explosion in one of the nearby buildings. He saw a young man with a white shirt and a dark tie and pants coming from the smoking wreckage. By his side was a tall, shirtless man wearing an ornate cloth around his waist. He held a golden blade with a curved edge.

Leo remembered the words the boy had said: "So there was another one."

* * *

Elsewhere, the green-haired Servant arrived at the church and wasn't surprised when he found Lancer of Red and his Master inside. Gene was now covered in bandages, cursing like crazy about how he would get the boy wearing the red jacket and that girl in the summer dress, and those two never should have dared do this to him. Seeing him like that almost made Rider forget that he needed to kill his Master for making him retreat.

He hated people like that. The king he had been forced to serve was the same way. He never respected any of his companions and treated them like tools. He had made them fight and die all so he could get his wife back, and even after that he never showed the slightest hint of respect toward any of his generals.

But he didn't see his Master in the room, he only saw the priest with white hair treating the wounds of the blue-haired magus.

"Where is he?" he asked the priest.

"In the back, but it's pointless to talk to him."

"Why?" he said while glaring at the priest.

"Because he surrendered his Command Seals to me," Shirou said with a pleasant expression.

Rider had his spear ready to kill the man before him, but he needed him to answer just one question.

"Who made me retreat?" he asked, though it sounded more like a demand than a question.

"That would be me," the priest answered, still smiling.

Rider's eyes widened and then suddenly his spear was a few centimeters away from Shirou's face, yet he was stopped by a black-gloved hand. At his left side he saw a woman with long blond hair holding his arm.

"Let me go, Pleiades!" he roared.

The woman didn't answer, but a golden aura began to surround her, and Rider felt that she wasn't a normal Counter Guardian. The reason was that, just by being in her presence, he felt something he hadn't felt in a very long time: fear. It didn't make sense for a Heroic Spirit like him who had entered the Throne of Heroes. In his eyes the Counter Guardians were weaklings who couldn't do anything on their own, so they ended up begging the world for a miracle. But this woman was nothing like that. The atmosphere emanating from her made her presence much like that of another Heroic Spirit. Not only that, her power was such that Lancer and his Master also couldn't move. The only one who seemed not to notice was Shirou.

"Calm down, Pleiades, I'm sure Rider understands that I did it to avoid the risk of losing him in battle." He turned to the green-haired servant. "Right, Rider?" He kept that smile which disgusted Rider to no end.

Still the Servant nodded. Pleiades let go of him and disappeared in a flash of light. Seconds later Gene, who had all his wounds treated, bid goodnight and went to his room inside the church along with Lancer and Rider, not wanting to be alone with the priest around, though he had also disappeared.

"You really need to stop smiling. It creeps me out, Master," a voice spoke.

"Sorry, an old habit, Assassin," he said as he felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck. He moved his head and saw another woman with long black hair, golden eyes, and marble-white skin. His smile wore off as he turned serious.

"I don't trust her," she said.

"Jealous?" he asked, only to earn a glare from his Servant.

"You know what I mean. She isn't just one of Gaia's dogs; she is special."

"I know, but I still need her to realize my plans."

"If you say so."

"She is the one getting the materials for the construction of your Noble Phantasm."

"I know."

"By the way, how long will it take you to finish?"

"Three days, Master."

He raised his hand and touched her hair. She was the only one he had told about his plans, his real name, and his wish to save humanity from itself. To his surprise she had agreed to help him. However, he didn't touch her hair as a sign of affection. It was merely a game both of them played with each other to obtain a goal, and the nature of those goals didn't matter in their eyes. As she continued to hug him and he continued to caress her hair, he understood how similar they really were.

* * *

Back in the city, Leo watched the man with the white shirt and his Servant breathing heavy as he saw yet another man with milky hair and silver armor decorated by a green rune on the chest plate holding a large sword slung over his left shoulder. He recognized the man with the white shirt, as he had been with him in that room when the old man had asked them to fight in this war. He walked up to him while Archer still aimed at Caules and Berserker with his bow. After getting closer, Leo saw he had a lacerated arm and blood dripping from his forehead. His Servant wasn't in better shape and seemed focused on the identity of that silver swordsman.

The name of the man with the dress shirt and black tie was Breno da Rocha, the Master of Rider of the sixth Faction. He had found the silver Servant and Rider attacked, believing him to be easy prey, but no matter where he struck, the swordsman didn't suffer any damage. He didn't even try to dodge, and Rider couldn't understand. He himself was not weak by any means, yet the expression reflected in the face of the man said otherwise. There was only thing written there: disappointment.

Then the swordsman counterattacked. One swipe was all it took to drive them into a corner. But it hadn't been just any swing of the sword, the pressure and the slash behind it was enough to create an explosion inside that building.

"You damn peon, you dare to harm a king?!" Rider hissed.

"I only have one king and that is not you," the swordsman answered.

Angered by his words, Rider rushed at him, but to no avail, since he was intercepted by Berserker of Black and barely able to block her mace with his sword. He lurched back a few meters.

"Saber, be careful! If you destroy anything else you could make other Masters notice we are here," Caules warned.

"My apologies. I will be more careful," Saber answered as he jumped from the building and landed next to Berserker.

Breno hadn't noticed there was another Master-Servant pair, the young man with blond hair and his Archer. The two Servants charged at him but were stopped by a pair of axes which flew their way. Each managed to repel the projectiles, though the attack stalled them badly.

He turned and recognized the young man who had been in the same room as him.

"You. What's your name?" Breno asked.

"It's Leo. You?"

"Breno da Rocha."

They didn't say more as they turned to face the two Servants coming at them.

"Archer will help Rider against that one, and we will take care of Berserker."

His Servant looked at him oddly. He had just said something pretty crazy, but still he decided to believe in the boy. The enemy rushed at Rider, who was barely able to stop the blade, and swung his bow as if it were a club at Saber's face. He didn't move, and the moment it hit him he retreated a few steps but without a trace of the blow.

"Are you mad that we can't beat a Servant?" Breno asked as Leo pushed him away so they wouldn't be crushed by Berserker.

"We don't have any other choice. If your Servant fights one-on-one against Saber, he would lose."

Breno knew he was right, but what they were doing was still insane. He looked at the Servant coming at him and even thought it seemed crazy he began to think about Berserker's identity. He had only one way to be sure of it.

His hands were wrapped by flames and before Berserker could reach him he shot them out. The fire wasn't strong enough to harm Berserker, but there was a certain fear of it she had been born with, so by pure instinct she leapt back. Leo saw this and lunged at her. Even while guarding herself with her mace, the strength behind Leo's fist had been enough to send her flying. She was able to stand up as if nothing happened, but Leo wondered why she had so violently avoided the flames.

"So I was right," Breno said at last, breaking the silence.

"What do you mean?"

"I know the identity of this Berserker."

"What? Really?"

"It sounds weird, but I think she's the legendary monster Frankenstein."

Leo's eyes widened. He didn't expect this at all. The stories described Frankenstein as a monster that was ugly beyond comparison, but the Servant before him was a very beautiful girl.

"You're kidding, right?"

"I wish. Maybe those rumors about Victor Frankenstein being crazy were true after all."

When those words left Breno's mouth and reached Berserker, she lost control. She dashed at them, but before she got too close she was stopped by the sound of a gun being fired and the scream of pain of a voice she recognized very well.

* * *

At the same time Edward and the rest were walking through the city while searching for a way they could better navigate around. Kirsche went in front so in case they found a Counter Guardian she could face him. Edward and Kousuke walked behind her, and Atosaki trailed behind them all. Their Servants traveled in spirit form. After the fight, Edward had turned his arm back to normal, his eyes as well, but he hated that each time he morphed his arm, it destroyed the left sleeve of his jacket.

He felt the old man on the other side of the city and walking there wasn't an option, but he sensed something else. Another three of his ghost fires were at the halfway point.

"Guys, I think I found the other ones," he said, stopping short.

The other three stopped too and looked at him, a little surprised by the suddenness.

"Those people who were inside that white room with us, right?" Atosaki asked.

"Yeah, let me focus a little."

He closed his eyes and saw two of them. They were fighting against a pair of Servants, though he couldn't find the third one. He opened his eyes and looked at the others.

"They're in trouble. There's a fight against some Servants, and I think they're losing." He said.

"So?" Kirsche asked.

"Kirsche-san, we need to help them!" said Atosaki.

"Why? Even if they were in that room with us, they are Masters we will need to fight eventually. What's the point of saving them now?" she said coldly.

"Because they are Masters like us." Edward said.

Kirsche wanted to speak but was interrupted by Kousuke.

"There are thirty-five Masters besides us, so we need all the help we can get. If in the end we have to fight between us, let it be in an honorable way."

"Do as you please," she huffed.

"Then we'd better hurry." Edward said as he stuck his hand inside his right pocket.

"How do we reach them in time?" Atosaki asked.

Edward didn't answer, but he took a red jewel and black one from his pocket. The crystals were suddenly surrounded by crimson and ebony flames. He threw them into the air and from them a white lion and silver wolf came forth and landed in front of the Masters.

"Let me introduce you my little friends, Kyrph and Cerberus."

Atosaki had a gleam in her eyes as walked toward the silver wolf and began to pat him on the head.

"He is so cute!"

Edward and Kousuke laughed awkwardly. The former noted that Atosaki's hands were shaking. He didn't need to wonder about the reason since the air was so brisk. Before she could notice, he had put his red jacket around her shoulders.

"Sorry, I know this is missing a sleeve, but it should help with the cold."

"Thanks," she managed to say.

Edward just waved his hand, but he could feel Lance glaring at him even while in spirit form, and the worst was that Saber wasn't happy about it.

"Why?" she asked, pointing at the jacket.

"I wanted to be nice?"

"You sure that's the reason?"

"I thought you liked it when I was kind."

"Yes, but it feels weird when that kindness isnt directed only at me!"

"Well excuse me, princess! You're quite the tyrant."

Kousuke, who had been watching all this unfold, could barely contain his laughter. Even though he couldn't see it, he could hear it in Edward's voice, and he pretty much understood the situation.

In the end, as each beast could carry two people, they paired off: Edward and Kirsche on Kyrph, the white lion, while Kousuke and Atosaki rode on Cerberus, the silver wolf. In a matter of seconds, red and black flames erupted around the beasts' paws as they rose to the sky and flew toward the other three Masters.

Edward was still talking with Saber, and Kirsche couldn't deny that the discussion was meaningless but also couldn't help but smile a little. But there was another thing on her mind. The boy beside her had been kicked by a Servant—she saw it all, just like he implied—but he was fine. His neck should have been broken, but there wasn't even a sign of damage. Also, she knew that he hadn't used all his power and she felt something very familiar coming from his flames. Something evil.

What was this Hellhound guy anyway?

* * *

Berserker turned to where her Master was, finding him lying on the ground and a young man with a black coat and a gun in hand looming over to him. Berserker's eyes rounded when she saw him like that, and no one had expected what she did next.

At the same time the gun went off, Saber stopped attacking for a second, which both Rider and Archer thanked since even in the first few minutes of battle they seemed close to defeat. Now they had a fighting chance.

"Hear me, my people!" Rider yelled. "Bring me my horses and chariot, so that I may turn this foul man into a blood stain on the sands of Kadesh!"

The swordsman was blinded by shining light and struck hard enough by a horse-drawn golden chariot to be sent soaring. Saber now felt pain for the first time in a long while. While in mid-air he was able to recognize the two-wheeled vehicle.

"The Chariot of Kadesh," he murmured before being hit by a rain of axes.

The reason Archer sent them up wasn't because he actually thought they would do damage, but because he wanted the swordsman to stay airborne and give Rider a chance to beat him. It worked, too. Saber had been so busy blocking the axes that he didn't notice Rider charging a second time, and the moment he did he was being thrown into concrete by a seal brown steed.

Rider moved out of the way a few seconds before the crash and looked from the sky to the knight buried in the floor. He was breathing heavily. This Saber was by far the strongest he had fought. Then, much to his displeasure, the knight stood up and looked at him mockingly, as if to ask, "Is that all you've got?" Rider felt angry about this, but even more so at the fact he didn't know how to beat him.

Then sounded a scream which almost made the Pharaoh lose control of his horses. Archer cupped his hands over his ears to ease the pain on his eardrums and looked at Berserker, who with her yell repelled Leo, Breno and a young man with a black coat.

After seeing her Master lying on the ground, she dashed at the boy with the black coat but was stopped by a blade-like shadow. She heard a voice behind the young man say something.

"King-Killer: The Future Death of the Monarch."

She broke wildly through the shadows as the young man jumped behind her while shooting with two 9mm pistols. Using her mace she deflected the bullets, and he landed near the other Masters, who wondered what had happened. She lifted her Master and even when she couldn't say anything she didn't like what she saw.

"Ber…serker…" she heard her Master whisper and saw that a bullet had caught him in the chest. Her white dress was now soaked with his blood.

Seeing this, she lost all control and cried out, her scream paralyzing all present except Saber. That was one of her most deadly skills, Scream of the False Life Form. None of the three Masters could move; they even had trouble breathing since the screeching had been so strong that they couldn't think or respond. Rider and Archer found themselves unable to move as well, Archer being unable to cover his ears long enough. The only one unaffected was Saber, and that was because he had been ready for it. He knew this might happen after hearing the gunfire. Caules had warned about this before they left the base of the Black Faction to check on the city. The moment she screamed he blocked up his ears and waited until it ended. Saber looked around. All the enemies would be incapacitated for a few minutes, and that would be time enough to finish them up.

Saber jumped and kicked the Pharaoh in the face with enough force to make him and his chariot crash into the floor like they had done to him a moment ago. He raised his blade, ready to decapitate Rider.

Leo tried to stand, but his body felt numb, and he could saw how Breno was fighting to remain conscious, and the third one did likewise. Berserker placed her Master down and ran at them, ready to bash in their skulls.

Kage, the boy with the black coat, didn't expect this when he moved from his hideout. He had been watching the fight and the moment he saw the two Servants leave their Masters unguarded, it seemed like the perfect chance. He planned on taking them down with the help of Assassin before escaping. Normally he would have used a rifle and killed him from afar, but after he was transported from that white room he didn't have any of his equipment. Only a few knives were still strapped to his wrists and a couple of guns remained in their holsters. He made a grievous mistake, having never expected that a Berserker could have such a power. Even Assassin, who was hiding in shadows, could not move.

The raging bride was coming at him. Of course he'd gone after her Master, since he could be considered the most dangerous of them all. However, the deadly blow never come.

"Reppa Fūjin!" he heard a voice say, and a golden tornado blew Berserker back. Before the three of them appeared an impressive man clad in a faintly glowing black bodysuit with a red spear.

On the other side, Saber was stopped by the blade of a red swordswoman with blonde hair and then hit by a hammer wrapped in lighting, sending him crashing into a building. He peeled himself from the wall and after realizing there were another four Servants, he decided it would be foolish to keep going.

"Berserker, we are leaving," he said with no emotion, but he felt something dripping from his forehead. He touched it, and on his fingertips was a vivid liquid; he was bleeding and he couldn't be happier about it. Still, the boy would die at this rate, so it was better to retreat. The bride grabbed her Master with care and the two Servants disappeared.

The three Masters turned back to see four figures standing before them.

"You guys alright?" asked one with black hair and a katana.

"A little dizzy, but yeah." Leo answered.

Deep within the confines of an obsidian-walled castle was a grand room that resembled a study. Darnic Prestone Yggdmillenia sat in front of the fireplace of this domicile to which he and the members of his Faction had been transported. Drinking a cup of tea, he waited for Caules to return and find out if he had managed to locate any of the enemy bases. He didn't expect anything from the kid, but surely he couldn't be completely useless. Saber had also been sent along with him, but only because Fiore has asked him to, in case something unexpected happened. He took another sip of some tea and wondered how his granddaughter could worry so much about him. Nothing more was to be expected from a man who didn't recognize family ties and only saw others as objects.

There was a small tremor, and he knew it came from the front door. Using one of his familiars, a crystal owl waiting at the entrance, he decided to look at the cause. He observed a pair of figures and assumed they were intruders. It couldn't be helped, as they hadn't been able to put all their defenses in during the two hours that had passed since they had arrived and summoned their Servants. It was good that the supervisor of his Faction had arranged for many of his homunculi to be inside the castle. It was one of them who made his tea.

His mind returned to the intruder and he was shocked to see who was. There was a middle-aged man with short white hair wearing black-plated armor stained with blood. At his side stood someone else, their gender obscured, wearing a strange costume. He didn't care about them being dressed so ridiculously, but there was something so familiar about the Servant that the moment his own Lancer appeared, he knew what that was.

"Darnic, I will eliminate the intruder."

"Do as you please. After all, this is personal business, right?"

The Servant simply nodded and disappeared, reappearing in front of the two at the door. The intruders' eyes widened when they saw the man with white hair and skin wearing dark noble's garments. He wore an expression full of hate toward the man who had the same face as him.

"Today I take the first step toward cleaning my name, monster!" he yelled out.

* * *

The two Vlad Tepped face each other. still i dont know how an scene between Kotomine shiro and Assasin end up ther but i like the pair. Tell me about any figt you would like to see in this war. after all thats the point battle all wanted to see but never happend in the series.

Please Review thanks.


	5. Chapter 4 Twin Spears

I don't own any characters except my own OC. The other OCs appearing in this story are property of the following authors:

Deux Silences - Atosaki Kurokawa

Suchbass - Kage

Nomorenamesleft - Yagami Kousuke

Count Valerian - Kirsche Von Einzbern.

Topographic Ocean - Breno Da Roche

AzarielKayras - Leo Wells

I thank you for lending them to me. Now, to the story!

* * *

Chapter 4: Twin Spears

The two Lancers stood before one another, neither noticing that a black crow observed everything, the reason different for each of them. The black spearman didn't because of the man before him, an existence created by tainting his name, a monster that held neither virtues nor honor. He was the most bizarre and horrible version of Vlad III. On the other hand, the blood-coated spearman failed to notice the crow for a more simple reason: he didn't care. He only focused on the enemy. Things like strategy and information were meaningless in his eyes; he only wanted to fight.

The two sides of Vlad III were both in a way real, but at the same time they denied the existence of the other since two of a kind could never exist at once. The fact that they even met was something only possible in a war like this.

Leonardo B. Harwey observed from the room in the house he had been transported to, doing so using the familiars of his brother. He lay on his bed with his Servant standing at his side. It was a room with white walls, a few framed paintings and a desk. The lights were off, making everything appear soiled with darkness. Never did Leo expect that ordering his brother to have a familiar go after that Master would bring such results. But the only reason he recognized the woman as "her" was because her very Lancer claimed she was his wife.

He could not have anticipated them entering a conflict against another Master so fast, along with discovering the location of one of the enemy bases. The result of the battle between Servants wasn't as important as the big picture itself, as either way he would win. If the Lancer of his faction was defeated, he would gain additional knowledge of the enemy Servant, and in the case of victory, the other faction would lose a Servant.

Another presence appeared inside the room so suddenly that his Servant readied himself to fight.

"Calm down Gawain, it's only the supervisor," said Leo, turning to the Servant.

He was a tall man with short, sand-colored hair wearing silver and blue armor. At the words of his Master he lowered his blade.

"I'm sorry, Master," Gawain said while bowing before Leo.

"It is okay, Gawain," he said to him while smiling. He then looked at the door. "So what do you need, Kaus?"

In the door was a man with white hair and blue eyes wearing black armor with the crest of a dragon on his chest. He held a black helmet sculpted to resemble a dragon's head.

"Following the orders given by our lord Alaya in aiding Gaia with her wish, I have made arrangements for the members of your faction to receive all necessary tools so they can fight to their heart's content."

"Drop the act, slave of the world. Toward your kind I feel nothing but hate, and I'm pretty sure you feel the same toward all of us," Leo said as his smile dissipated.

The knight looked at him and chortled.

"I guess I can be a little honest, then. I curse Zelretch for giving you humans this opportunity. None of you magi deserve this world. To me you are all pests that need to be destroyed. Especially you, Leo," he said with a sadistic smile.

"You dare insult my king?" Gawain roared as he dashed at him with his sword in hand.

He swung at the dragon knight but was stopped by the blade of a black scythe.

"You are lucky that I'm now allowed to kill you or your Master," he said as he pushed Gawain back with ease.

He was about to charge at him again when he was stopped by Leo.

"That's enough, Gawain. You know you can't fight with full power at night."

Gawain halted, glaring at the black knight.

"Also, Kaus," continued Leo, "I'm sure you didn't just come to fight."

"As I was saying, I only came here to report," he said as he disappeared inside the shadows of the room.

Leo hated that man above all the other Counter Guardians. He had grown up hearing the tales of how they carried out the purge and how many people they killed in order to erase magic. Even if that act had helped his family take control of things, he couldn't agree with such killing. After all, he was the king of that world, and for his people to be slaughtered was unacceptable. Yes, it was a twisted reason, but a reason nonetheless.

* * *

The spears clashed with each other, with neither of the spearmen backing down even as the floor beneath them began to crack as they exchanged blows. Even with the power behind each attack, it was quite a simple battle. In a situation like this, neither tricks nor strategies would work. They were battling their reflections.

The two Servants separated from each other. One was smiling, rather enjoying the fight, while the other was completely serious and feeling repulsed by the grin of this second self. Then the silence was broken by the laugh of the bloody spearman.

"Wonderful! Really wonderful! You shall be a great present for my wife," he said while pointing at the person in the clown costume.

Lancer of Black continued to glare at him, trying his best to keep his cool, but it was hard. Was that really how people saw him—a brutal killer that didn't any values or respect for life? It was true that he had done many questionable things while alive, but that was in order to protect his kingdom, to protect his people. How could his noble intentions be distorted by others, making him a monster?

"I want to ask you something," he said with no emotion.

The other spearman just looked at him, and he used his silence to speak.

"Why do you fight?"

After hearing that question, the blood-covered spearman's smile disappeared and for a moment they shared the same serious expression, devoid of feeling, as if he had returned to his senses after being confronted by his counterpart.

"Do I need a reason?"

At these words Lancer of Black's eyes widened.

"A sinner like me can only fight and pray that at the end he can find some meaning."

Lancer of Black couldn't deny the truth in his words. He was indeed a sinner, but he still couldn't accept that his other self would choose a life without meaning."

"I guess we are different people then." He thrust his black spear into the ground. "Your words are those of a coward that couldn't stand his own actions and believed he was beyond salvation. I want to clear my name. I am a sinner, I know that very well, but I sinned so my people would live and be free. I'm not asking for forgiveness or to be worshipped. I only want the world to know the truth about me. If after all I am still treated like a monster, I shall bear those sins!"

The other Lancer smiled after hearing his words and thrust his red spear into the floor in front of him as well. Both became surrounded by a dark aura as they yelled the name of the spears they held.

"Kazikli Bey!" When called in unison, countless red and black spears began to spring forth from the ground and clash with themselves, trying to pierce the enemy as they navigated the battlefield.

* * *

In one of the rooms of the church, Gene was lying atop his bed, Karna at his side. Neither spoke but their thoughts were about a certain man: Kotomine Shirou. It was strange enough that he had such an odd relation with the supervisor, but everything became even stranger as the other Masters began to surrender their Command Spells to him. He had met a couple of them and none seemed the type who would submit so easily. According to earlier, four of the other Masters had already handed over their Command Seals, and it had only been a couple hours since the beginning of the war. But then there was still one Master missing. That was the Master of Saber.

"Where is Kairi when I he's needed?" he asked no one in particular as he tried to sleep.

Unbeknownst to Gene, Kairi was walking through the streets with a silver and crimson-clad knight walking at his side.

"Really, you sure you don't want to turn into spirit form, Saber?" he asked for the third time, just to hear the same answer.

"There is no one in this city, Master. I also like to feel the ground under my feet."

They arrived at a destroyed street.

"Well, it seems the war has already begun," Saber said after taking off the helmet, revealing a gorgeous blond young woman with emerald green eyes.

"Yep, but are you completely sure there is no one in the city, Saber?" he asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"I know you still sense remnants of power from those who fought here, but don't you think there is something strange?"

"No, the street is completely destroyed and so are the hous—"

She didn't finish as she realized that the houses around were still intact. The entrances of some of them were destroyed, but compared to the state of destruction in the streets it didn't make sense.

"They held back, or at least one of them did."

"Yeah, I can think up two sensible reasons for that. One is that he's a nasty guy who likes to look down on others, or he's a goody two-shoes who doesn't like killing innocents."

After hearing his words, Saber broke down the door of one of the houses and began to search for anyone inside, finding the same that Atosaki and the others had found: people being forced to sleep. She too knew that a bad move could mean their deaths.

Her Master, who had followed her, looked on and casually lit a cigarette.

"This war is going to get nasty."

Kairi was right. It was just a matter of time before the others realized this. Many Masters would exploit these people to supply mana to their Servants. It was a very good strategy, but he didn't like it. He was actually a necromancer but still had some respect for innocent people. He wouldn't try to kill them, but if they died it couldn't be helped. He finished his cigarette and began to walk away. Saber put her helmet back on and followed him.

The moment they took one step out the house, Saber felt a presence and jumped toward it. In one second she was already on a roof. She didn't see anything across the way but still swung her blade. Blood was spilled on the shingles, revealing a swarthy man wearing a white skull mask with black daggers in his hands.

"Assassin," she whispered as she jumped down to join her Master.

* * *

At the base of the Faction of Zero, Kirei stayed completely still after witnessing the death of one of his Servants. Kiritsugu, along with Tokiomi, had decided they wouldn't do anything before knowing where they were. Assassin was perfect for exploring at high speeds. One of them watched the fight between the two Vlad IIIs from afar. Another had observed the fight between a group of Masters in the plaza.

"So Kirei-kun, did you find out anything about that Saber?" asked Tokiomi, who sat near him.

Kirei stood. He was in the living room of the castle along with Tokiomi. The others had retired to their bedchambers. Aldebaran had made arrangements so that there would be some workers inside the house to take care of any menial work.

During their earlier conversation, Tokiomi told Kirei to let Assassin be seen so Saber would attack him and then reveal some information. Kirei saw nothing. He knew she was fast and strong, but he couldn't pick out many facts from that or how she finished his Servant with one blow. The fact that all his Assassins shared their minds should have given him something. With his body, the Servant was able to learn the enemy's strength and speed, and that information was passed to the others and thus to Kirei, but that wasn't the case this time.

"Sorry, Master, I couldn't find anything."

Tokiomi seemed surprised, but then it hit him.

"No, Kirei-kun, you got a very valuable piece of information."

"I beg your pardon?"

"That Servant has the power to hide all its abilities."

* * *

Sparks flew from the two clashing spears. In a battlefield full of weapons, the two warriors continued trying to kill each other. Each of them attacked and blocked the other's spear while dodging the spearheads under them. Neither dared to retreat; neither moved his eyes from the man in front of him as they went on fighting.

Another wave of black and crimson spears popped up from under them and broke each other. Kazikli Bei was a Noble Phantasm that generated spears inside a territory designated by its user. That territory range depended on the strength of the user and his mana supply. In this case, where the two territories clashed, the winner would be decided by will alone. The spearman whose concentration wavered first would lose.

They finally backed away. Each of them had cuts across their bodies. Both were standing in pools of their own blood. The two had already reached their limits and the only thing keeping them going was the need to crush the other. Lancer of Black's clothes had been reduced to shreds, almost exposing his bare chest. On the other hand, the blood-soaked spearman's armor was completely destroyed, the mantel he wore over his left shoulder long gone.

Both spearmen had been fighting for what seemed to them like hours, when in truth only thirty minutes had passed. The woman in the clown costume had been watching the fight between the two, completely silent. Even someone as twisted as her understood that no one could intervene. Saber and Berserker of Black had felt the same when they saw the two fighting each other. Normally they wouldn't intrude, but there was no other entrance and Caules was dying. They passed by quickly and Saber of Black's eyes widened when neither noticed their presence.

Both were so fixated on each other that they couldn't notice anything beyond themselves. The bloody spearman sent another wave of crimson spears at Lancer of Black. The latter didn't manage to react in time and was struck by them.

The black spearman roared in pain as the tips of the spears exited his body, soaked in what remained of his blood.

The other Lancer began to laugh as he walked toward him.

"Accept this offering, my wife!" he shouted as he stabbed through Lancer of Black's heart.

The battle was over. The bloodied spearman had won, he had defeated his other self, but while savoring his victory he didn't notice the smile which formed on the face of Lancer of Black.

"Is that all you got?" the impaled Servant asked, making the red-soaked spearman take a step back.

Lancer of Black's body turned into shadows which easily moved through the spears. His weapon was gone and in those dark shapes the only thing the other Lancer could see was a pair of golden eyes. He managed to hear him murmur three words.

"Legend of Dracula."

Before he could even move, his left arm was blow off along with his spear. The spearman fell to his knees as his Noble Phantasm began to fade. The shadows began to congregate and from them emerged the very spearman he had fought, appearing as if nothing had happened.

Something actually did happen; something seemed different. The aura around him was more evil. His clothes were transformed. He looked like a vicious count and walked toward Lancer with a fiendish smile on his face. This was his final Noble Phantasm, "Legend of Dracula," the manifestation of his distorted legend. He was no longer Vlad Tepes, rather, a vampire: a Dead Apostle.

It was ironic that he used the very myth he wanted to erase to achieve victory, but it didn't matter to him anymore. As his hands turned into claws he heard his other self yell out. The shadow around Lancer of Black began to surround him, paralyzing him. His cries were drowned by the darkness.

* * *

Back at the plaza, the seven Masters had already introduced themselves to each other. They remained still for a while as they waited for Leo and the other two to recover from Berserker of Black's scream. All the Servants had turned back to spirit form. Kirsche and Atosaki sat atop Kyrph while the others were seated on the floor.

"Hey Saber, any idea who that guy was?" Edward asked his Servant.

Saber materialized but just looked at him. He understood she was angry, even now.

"Are you really still mad about me lending my jacket?" he said, and the only answer was a pout from the red swordswoman.

Edward really missed her. She hadn't changed at all since the last time he saw her. He stood and walked over. Feeling him close, she decided to speak.

"Praetor, I don't…."

She didn't get to finish. He kissed her on the lips. The others who saw it remained silent for many different reasons.

Kage didn't care.

Atosaki was left speechless.

Kirsche though it would be rude to interrupt them.

Leo found it interesting and wanted to continue watching.

Kousuke was wondering what Caster would do after seeing this.

Breno just thought it was stupid.

On the other hand, Saber's mind was completely blank. At that moment, Caster materialized and kissed her Master before he could even protest. Atosaki found Lance at her side with a curious look that make her blush even more.

Edward separated from Saber with a grin on his face.

"So am I forgiven?"

"That was low, Praetor," she said, turning beet red.

"I will take that as a yes."

A clap was heard as Kirsche stood from Kyrph with a serious expression.

"Alright Hellhound, playtime is over."

"Why did you help us?" Breno asked.

"We were all in that room and we know there are a great amount of other Masters. We need to work together for now in order to survive," Kousuke said after breaking off from Caster's kiss.

"I don't need help," said Breno as he stood up.

"Breno, we just saved your life, and I think you need help," Edward said.

The only answer he got was a torrent of flames aimed at him. Edward raised his left arm. As it turned into a claw, the fire was halted and compressed into a ball before being absorbed.

"Calm down. It's the cold hard truth that there are many powerful Servants out there. One person can't do everything alone."

"Shut up!" Breno was about to unleash another surge, but he was prevented from doing so by a silver wire wrapped around his arm.

"Stop this nonsense!" Kirsche yelled.

Edward turned his arm back to normal and Breno put down his flames.

"Breno," said Edward, "I know where the old man who brought us here is."

Breno, Leo and Kage looked at him in disbelief.

"We need answers. We know that this is a war and that he needs us to save the world, but this war is different. Plus, we don't have even the slightest idea where are we."

Breno sighed and then lowered his fist.

"Lead the way."

Edward smiled at his words as the group began to walk where Zelretch was waiting for them. None of them noticed that a man clad in red and a woman with long purple hair had been watching them from afar.

"Rider, you know who that girl is, right?"

"Yes. Even though her appearance is a little different, I know it's her."

"Another Sakura," said the man.

"Yes, but that doesn't matter. I will only fight for the one who summoned me."

"That's not what I meant. She is by far more powerful that the one we know. Not only that, I feel that the boy with the weird arm and the one holding a katana are both powerful enough to fight us on even ground."

Rider knew what he was talking about.

"Let's go back, Archer."

"Yeah," he said before looking back at Kirsche one last time.

"What happened to you, Sakura?" the two Servants thought before disappearing.

* * *

Saber of Black walked to the entrance. He felt the battle was over and wanted to make sure of the winner. He saw Lancer of Black standing with his clothes turn to shreds but without wounds. In front of him was the dead body of Lancer of White's Master and the remnants of the armor the Servant wore.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yes, I have taken care of the enemy. How was everything on your way?"

"We found a couple of Masters and were about to kill them when they got help."

"So, they were weaklings?"

"I don't know. They probably didn't get to show all their powers because of Berserker's skill."

"I see," said Lancer of Black as the two retreated into the castle.

The seven arrived at a large house on a dead-end street. The door was unlocked and they entered. The moment they did, the lights flickered on and they saw a very beautiful living area. It had golden chandeliers, beautiful portraits on the walls and a floor made of marble.

"It took you all some time," said a voice they all knew very well.

They found Zelretch seated on one of the couches with a big smile on his face.

"I'm glad all of you managed to make it here. I had my doubts."

The seven walked to where the old man was sitting.

"We came here for answers," Kousuke said.

The old man's seemingly happy expression faded and he turned serious.

"Take a seat. This could take a while."

They all did as they were told and sat in the empty chairs and sofas.

"Then here's what you need to know."

* * *

Master Remaining : 37

Servants Remaining : 41

* * *

So Lancer of black won and the oc faction finally manage to find Zelrecht, there is only two more supervisors left to know. I have some issues deciding about the supervisor of the OC faction i could give them a counter guardian like the rest or Joanne d arc who is also part of the counter force or any other characther of that universer tricked by Zelrecht to supervise them, put any character you think i could put as a supervisor in coments or PM. still, Check the story of one of my friends AzarielKayras Fate stay night LoH is in spanish but is good and could see something about Leo world. Still Review!


	6. Chapter 5 Answers

I don't own any characters except my own OC. The other OCs appearing in this story are property of the following authors:

Deux Silences - Atosaki Kurokawa

Suchbass - Kage

Nomorenamesleft - Yagami Kousuke

Count Valerian - Kirsche von Einzbern

Topographic Ocean - Breno Da Rocha

AzarielKayras - Leo Wells

I thank you for lending them to me. Now, to the story!

* * *

Chapter 5: Answers

Inside a hotel room was a woman with green hair, white skin and brown eyes wearing a short green dress with a brown leather jacket and thigh-high black boots. She sat in a chair watching, just watching. Although the action happening before her was something she could stop, even if it could be considered sick or evil, the woman known as Reika Rikudou continued to watch a little girl kill the people in that room.

She had no idea why those people wouldn't wake up, but it was better she didn't have to hear them scream or beg for mercy. She had her doubts when entering the first room, but at the third one she began to stop caring. They were now at the tenth room of the night and she merely looked on at the bloody scene before her. The girl finished her job and walked back to her, the moonlight passing onto her from through the window. She had short white hair and silver eyes with two scars on her face, one over her left eye and the other on her right cheek, and was dressed in black attire which could hardly be considered conservative.

When Reika saw the little girl was covered in blood, she sighed and led her to the bathroom so she could clean her. After all, the owners of that room wouldn't need it anymore.

"Really, Jack, you always make such a mess," she said as she helped her take off her clothes and enter the bathtub for a shower.

"Sorry," Jack limited herself to saying.

"Alright, don't worry about it. Once you are clean, let's go back home."

Jack just smiled, focusing so much on the woman taking care of her, even though it wasn't necessary, that she didn't notice a man observing them from outside the room.

The man floating in the sky had long emerald hair and red eyes with tanned skin. He wore a blue coat with a black shirt, pants and boots. The man continued to look for a couple more seconds before landing on the roof of a nearby building.

"Sometimes I think you are going soft, Situla."

The man turned to see a crimson-clad knight standing behind him.

"Antares," he said with a smile. "I could say the same. I would have sworn you'd have killed a member or two of your Faction by now."

The crimson knight laughed.

"I won't deny I almost did, but Hero-san managed to save them."

"We haven't seen him in a long time."

"But tell me Situla, why are you helping that pair so much?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

"Don't get me wrong, Antares. I'm just giving them a fair chance. That woman can't provide her servant with mana, so I simply guided them in the right direction so their war won't end so fast."

"Is that so?" Antares didn't seem convinced. "Why did you provide her with another place to stay, separate from her faction?"

Situla needed to choose his words carefully since he knew that under Antares' carefree expression was a monster thirsting for blood. No wonder he and the other Counter Guardians believed him to be the strongest of them all.

"I thought it would be the best decision, as many inside her faction would try to take advantage of the fact that she isn't a real magus and steal her Servant. As I said, I am only giving them a chance."

He didn't lie but he didn't tell the truth either, as he had taken some interest in that particular pair. It was a pair that was completely different from the others. The compatibility between them was extraordinary and he wanted to see how much that girl and her Master could accomplish in the War.

Antares looked at him, any trace of his smile long gone, trying to see a lie, but he couldn't find anything. He sighed, and then patted Situla on the shoulder.

"Alright, I will trust you with this. See you later, old friend," Antares said, disappearing in a torrent of flames.

Situla turned back to the building and saw the pair leaving through the front door.

"I wish you two the best of luck… Assassin of the Black Faction." He then vanished.

* * *

Archer and Rider arrived at the house provided by Antares. Archer had managed to stop Shirou from going out until they at least knew where they were. He didn't do it for the sake of that idiot, but because if he left him to do as he pleased, he would get them all killed with his stupid need to save everyone.

He and Rider were the fastest, so they could cover more parts of the city in less time.

"Rider, don't tell anyone about her."

"Why?"

"Knowing that idiot, he would try to talk to her and probably end up dead. Also, if it comes to the point where we have to take her down, it would make things hard."

Rider thought about it for a moment before agreeing with the man clad in red.

* * *

The seven were now seated in front of Zelretch, none of them really happy since they had almost died in last hour. He had agreed to answer their questions, which were many, but they needed to ask the important ones. They didn't ask his name—he told them the moment he had brought them to that room.

"Alright, first question old man, where are we?" Leo asked.

"Have you ever heard of the Bermuda Triangle?"

"You're kidding, right?" Edward said while standing up. "There's a city in here. This can't possibly be the place in those legends."

"Are you sure?"

"He's made a fair point, Zelretch. How could people who had been lost create such a city?" Kousuke asked.

Zelretch just lowered his head. All looked at him with confusion, and then Kage realized what the old magus was trying to say.

"It can't be," he said, standing as well.

The second to notice was Kirsche.

"I'm impressed, Zelretch," she said with an appraising look. "After all your concerns about Re-Genesis you do… this."

Then the others began to understand, one by one, the truth about the place where they were.

"This place isn't a city, it's an arena," Breno said, looking down at the floor, disgusted by the idea.

"Gaia used the people who disappeared around here to build this city?" Atosaki asked with horror.

"No, I don't think so. The world doesn't have such power. If she did, humanity wouldn't have any freedom," Kirsche said while remaining seated. "To control such large amounts of people she would need something else, namely, a magus." She pointed at Zelretch.

In that moment, before anyone could stop him, Edward ran at Zelretch. His left arm turned into his claw form, but it differed this time, the head of a silver wolf now protruded from his shoulder. He tried to punch Zelretch but was blocked by an unseen barrier.

"Edward-san!" Atosaki yelled in concern.

"Calm down, boy. I won't deny I deserve it, but I'm not so old to be beaten by a mere kid."

"You bastard!" Flames began to clash against the barrier. "Using innocent people for this! Just what do you want us to save?!"

Eventually the barrier repelled him and before he could run at him again he was stopped by silver wires tied around his body and the hands of both Leo and Kousuke.

"That's enough, Hellhound." Kirsche said without any sign of emotion.

"I know what you feel, trust me, but we need more answers," Kousuke said, holding his katana tightly.

"You beat me in trying to punch that old man," Leo said with a smile, but his free hand was clenched in a fist.

Edward calmed down and his arm turned back to normal. The others let him go.

"Zelretch, explain the meaning of this." The anger in his voice hadn't disappeared.

The old magus looked at him with eyes full of regret.

"She needed a stage so the destruction wouldn't cause her any more damage. It's true I used the people who disappeared and made them construct this city. The Counter Guardians gave me the materials. I must say, not all of them were innocents. Some were modern pirates, others were people running away from their crimes, but I won't deny a great amount of innocent people were used."

"Don't beat around the bush, tell us why!" Kage said as he began to lose his patience.

"Have you heard the phrase 'sacrifice a few for the good of many'?"

The moment he said those words, the noblewoman among them gave a chilling laugh.

"How hypocritical…" Kirsche retorted cryptically as flames now surrounded Edward.

Even Kage glared at him, annoyed by those words.

"It was necessary," the old magus said, looking at them before continuing. "That's why I reunited all of you; I need you to win and to protect the people in here."

"You're just making us clean up after your mess!" Breno exclaimed.

"I know, but there is no other way. I need you all to wish for the world to forget the Grail."

"I don't understand how that would even work," Kousuke intervened. "Before the Grail War, there had been a great number of Holy Grails in the world. Even before that, the Grail was part of the legend of King Arthur."

"All of that will disappear."

All present were shocked.

"With your wish, the stories of this world will change. The very myth of the Grail will disappear. The life of all the people in this War would change, the three families would never create the ritual, other Grails won't exist and even the legend of King Arthur would be modified."

* * *

Archer and Rider found Rin with Sakura in the living room.

"Rin, Rider and I are back."

"Welcome back. How did it go?" she asked.

"Well, a couple of fights have already begun. We found a couple of streets destroyed."

In that moment Shirou came along with Saber, the wound to his shoulder already healed.

"So you are back, Archer," Saber said.

Archer noticed something strange.

"Rin, where are the others?"

Rin looked at him, not understanding the reason for his question.

"Ilya decided to go to sleep. Bazett went with Caster and Kuzuki to the basement for her to summon Assassin as a gate keeper, like in the last war."

The moment she said that, Archer got a bad feeling and headed toward the basement. It was a good thing this house was almost the same as Rin's.

He didn't get far. The three of them entered the room the very moment he was about to leave. The expression on Caster's face showed both confusion and rage. She had failed and she couldn't try another summoning.

"What happened, Caster?" asked a worried Rin.

"We weren't able to summon Assassin."

"What?" Rin was shocked along with the others, and Archer understood the reason behind that bad feeling.

"I don't understand why you all are so surprised. That just means the Assassin of this faction has been already summoned," said a voice nobody had expected to hear.

"Antares!" Shirou said while tracing Kanshou and Bakuya.

The crimson knight appeared with a smirk on his face and trying to suppress his laughter when he saw the boy trying to fight him.

"Kid, because of idiots like you, others will begin to believe I like killing people."

"It's not completely false either," Archer said while glaring at him.

"Come on Hero-San, if anyone likes to kill, it's Kaus."

"Supervisor, what do you mean Assassin was already summoned?" the cloaked Servant asked.

"I mean what I said; each faction needs seven Masters and Servants. So unlike in your War, you can't be a Master, Servant of the spell," said the crimson knight.

"Then who is it?" Shirou asked.

"Really? You haven't found out? I would assume you would know of all people." Antares pointed at Sakura.

"What?" Sakura didn't understand.

"Little girl, the Master of Assassin is someone you know very well, he said as he disappeared and reappeared in front of the purple haired girl before anyone could react.

Sakura felt a shiver go down her spine and understood who the seventh Master was.

"No… No… It can't be!"

"Stop with the theater, Antares!" Rin snapped. "Tell me who summoned Assassin. There was no one else in that room!"

The knight didn't say anything, just pointed to the door behind the group. They all turned and saw a decrepit-looking old man wearing a light green kimono with a black mantle over his shoulders.

All those present looked at him and felt something evil emanating from him, except for Sakura. Sakura felt something completely different. She felt a mix of fear and obedience.

"Who are you?" Shirou asked.

"Matou Zouken," Bazett said while glaring at the old man.

"I feel honored that you know about me, child of the Fraga."

"Everyone would know about a monster like you."

"There, there, normally I wouldn't mind a fight between all of you, but it would be a pain if my faction ended up being defeated first because of this," Antares said as he stood, raising his hands, trying to calm the situation.

"You think you can order me around, Servant of the World. You are just a weak excuse for a human who needed to submit to someone."

"What did you just say?" Antares glared at the old man.

"It's the truth. You're nothing but a dog at the service of Alaya. Even if the others consider you the strongest of the Counter Guardians, without the support of the world even I can…"

Zouken didn't manage to finish. The upper half of his body had separated from the rest. It fell slowly, seeing how the remnants became ashes. As all of it scattered, a crimson scorpion stinger appeared around Antares.

The moment his body touched the ground, all those present realized what had happened and before they could even say anything, the stinger moved toward a wall and thrust itself into it. No one understood the action until a second later a man wearing a black robe and a white skull mask appeared, yelling in pain as the stinger continued piercing his stomach.

"That's Assassin?!" Rin said, not believing the Servant who could hide his presence better than anyone had been found without a problem.

Zouken looked at where his body had been ripped off. It wasn't burned or cut, only as if the stinger had disintegrated the part of his body between the upper and lower ones. He stopped thinking when he heard a crash on the other side of the room. Antares had thrown Assassin after deciding it was enough. He slowly walked to the old man and knelt so they could talk face to face.

"Don't think of me as a regular Counter Guardian, snake, I don't have anything to envy of those Heroic Spirits." He stood and began to walk away, but then he suddenly stopped and turned back. "Also, you are lucky I can't kill participants or else you would be dead. Leave this house if you want to live. You make me sick."

Antares disappeared in a whirlwind of fire. Everyone understood why he was considered the strongest, and Archer had said it would be foolish to oppose him. It wasn't power alone, the aura and the pressure that knight gave had been so great that none of them could even move, the Servants included. Only one thought was on their minds.

"That guy is a monster."

* * *

Between the seven Masters and Zelretch, no one dared to say a word. No one had expected that the old man wanted them to rewrite history.

"I still don't understand why you selected us. In the end, we'll end up killing each other since there is only one winner in this war," Breno said as he sat again.

"No, your case is different."

"How so?" the young man with the black coat asked.

"You weren't supposed to exist as a faction, so the Grail recognized the seven of you as a whole winner. If the members of your group are the only ones remaining, then the war would be over."

"Still, you're basically asking us to kill thirty-five people. Not that I'm a saint, but I don't like killing because someone told me to," Leo said, returning to his seat.

"We can't kill them! We just need to beat the Servants!" Atosaki said, opposed to the idea of killing human Masters.

"To focus only on the Servants is too dangerous. Also, Masters could make another contract with a free Servant," Kirsche said in a cold voice.

"We could cut off their arms," Edward said, surprising everyone.

"Hey, do you understand what you just said?" Kousuke asked while grabbing his shoulder.

"I know, but at least we could take their Command Seals without killing them," he said back, looking at the others. "It's not the best choice, but it's an option. That way they don't have to die."

"I can't deny you have a point, but there are too many Masters to just target their Servants," Kousuke said while pulling his hand away and taking a seat.

Edward turned to Atosaki, who looked at him with eyes full of shock and sorrow at his words.

"Atosaki-san," he said.

She didn't answer him, only turned to the old man.

"Isn't there any other way?"

"No, I'm sorry. You either kill the other Masters or take their Command Seals," the old man said, head hung.

"I curse you, old man. You're forcing us into a war that isn't our own and to fight people we don't know to save your world," Edward said. "At the beginning I thought you had good intentions and that's why I was eager to help, but you are as evil as the World that created this war."

No one spoke. Zelretch didn't feel he had the right to.

"Still, I will fight, not for you but for this world, even if it isn't mine. I have a policy of aiding those who seek my help. You approve of this, Saber, don't you?"

The red swordswoman appeared at his side with a smile.

"I will follow you no matter what, my Praetor."

Her words made him smile. He then turned to the other six.

"What about you guys?"

He didn't ask this question because they actually had a choice. They were already participants in the War and none them seemed to have the means to go back to their own worlds. But he wanted to make it look like it was their decision and that the reason they would fight wasn't just because they had been tricked by Zelretch.

"I can't let people die, Edward-san," Atosaki said with a smile.

"I will fight because I think something like this War shouldn't exist," Kage said.

"My honor as a magus wouldn't let me run away," Breno said.

"It's a good cause, so I think I can help out," Leo said, smirking.

"I have better things to do, but now that I'm here as a member of the House of Einzbern, I must also fight," Kirsche sighed.

"Since it's against my principles to let innocents get hurt, I will fight," Kousuke said.

Edward turned back to Zelretch.

"You've got your sixth faction, Zelretch, but let me make two things clear. We are doing this because we decided to, not because of you, and once this is over I will make you pay," he said as his eyes turned bright red.

To their surprise, the old magus began to laugh a laugh that they were sure could be heard throughout the house.

"I didn't expect less from all of you, and Hellhound, I guess I can let you punch me if I you manage to win."

He stood up.

"Then let me introduce to your supervisor."

"Supervisor? You mean the Counter Guardian you mentioned when you brought me here?" Leo asked.

"Yes and no. You see, I managed to make arrangements so that instead of a Counter Guardian, you would have someone else as a supervisor to allow more freedom."

Everyone present nodded, even as a door in the back opened to let in a woman wearing a long-sleeved, light blue sweater and a white skirt.

"Your sense of drama is tacky, old man," she commented dryly, and Zelretch could only sigh while Kirsche cackled with delight.

Two of the Masters couldn't believe it. Edward knew her since he had met another version of her, and even though she didn't have simply a different hair and eye colouring, but an entirely different appearance, he knew who she was instantly.

"Sakura…?" he asked, and the woman raised a blue eyebrow at him.

"I wasn't aware that we've met," she mused. "Therefore, it would be logical to assume that you've met one of my alternate universe counterparts. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sakura of Colchis, Priestess of Hecate, and the Tenth Dead Apostle Ancestor."

Kirsche nearly fell out of her chair. "You're a vampire…?"

"No…" Sakura said while walking over to a free chair and sitting down. "…I'm not a vampire. Princess Altrouge just insisted I take over the role after I killed Nrvnsqr Chaos. She was the one who gave me the title 'The Bearer of the Word'. How fitting, considering my abilities." Sakura paused and chuckled at the irony. "Anyway enough about that…" she said while looking carefully at the gathered Masters. "…Let's talk about the upcoming contest, shall we?"

* * *

Ok Antares is a freaking monster, The Supervisor of the Oc faction would be Sakura of Colchis. But im also thinking of using Jeanne d Arc as another supervisor. Still this answer the question about the location is in artificial city created specially for the war.

Editor: spiderrock's working hard! I'll try my best as well. I've never been part of such a project, so this is a brand new experience. Thanks for your support of the story!


	7. Chapter 6 First Night

Chapter 6: First night

In the sewers of the city, a young man with short orange hair found himself crying on his knees while looking at the bloody scene before him. Corpses were lying everywhere, bodies completely dismembered, barely recognizable as humans anymore. To just about anyone it would have been viewed as a sad picture where the young man would be crying for the people that had died, but that wasn't the case. The man in question wasn't crying because of the dead, since he was the one who'd ended their lives to begin with. The man cried because the emotion had been taken away from it.

Screaming, that was what made their murders so exciting, and it was indeed "theirs" because he hadn't committed the last ones on his own. But he couldn't hear what he wanted. The spell that stopped their awakening, used in order to avoid the War being discovered, didn't let them feel any pain while being killed. No matter the method of torture he tried on them, they remained asleep, and for him that was the worst possible punishment. During his youth, the man had murdered others with the purpose of understanding death. The twisted young man had butchered countless people, not caring whether they were old or young, women or children. In any case, those times were special because they provided him with reactions and feelings that were different from the others. Their eyes full of terror, their voices asking him why he was doing it: all of those things made his work worthy.

The young man continued to sob until another figure appeared behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Ryuunosuke." The figure spoke, trying to console the young man.

"Boss, they're just like dolls! There is no beauty in their deaths, no screams, no pain. It was as if they weren't alive at all!" Ryuunosuke exclaimed tearfully.

The young man looked to the figure beside him. It was a man wearing a dark blue cloak with a silver cross-shape decorating the lower part of it. Around his neck he wore a contrasting magenta-colored collar. He had huge, rolling eyes, oily, glistening cheeks and short black hair. The man was the Caster from the Faction of Zero, but even his magic couldn't wake the people from their slumber. After he was summoned, the pair decided to leave the castle since neither of them had any interest in the Grail.

The two had mounted their lair in the middle of the city sewers, and during the first hours of the night they began to abduct people in their sleep. At the beginning they didn't complain—it was easy kidnapping their victims—but they soon discovered that what seemed like a blessing really wasn't.

"I know, but worry not my friend, this atrocity is something we won't let stand," the cloaked man said, fully sharing his sadness.

"But who could have do this to the people, boss, to take from them the ability to feel?" the young man asked without realizing how hypocritical it sounded.

"I don't know, my Master, but the only way to find out is by continuing on."

"But boss! In this state it's no fun!"

"I know, but it is a sacrifice we must make in order to regain what has been taken from us."

* * *

At the residence of the White Faction, an old man with a gray beard wearing green and black noble garb looked out upon the city from the balcony of his room.

He observed how peaceful it seemed. No one would have ever thought that there was a war being waged between six different groups. He sighed. Leo had come just a moment ago and told him his plan for tomorrow, a way to beat the other Masters using the ability of his Servant, Archer. He understood it was a good strategy, but he had taken some issue with the resulting collateral damage. The only answer he received had been that "in war, sacrifices must be made." As a veteran soldier, he couldn't object to the logic of that phrase.

The man known as Dan Blackmore had already decided to execute the plan, but in his conscience he felt that what he was about to unleash was uncalled for, and that they didn't need to do such things in order to win. He began to remember, the blond boy had managed to make the others trust him by revealing his name and that of his Servant. He couldn't deny the charisma the boy emitted had a strong grip, something only a king should possess. He knew it better that anyone; he had felt the same when serving under the queen of his country.

But the line that truly convinced all the others, except for that girl in a clown costume who disappeared after getting her Lancer, had been a wish all of them shared, something everyone from that faction desired so much that they could put their own wishes behind them.

"Let's change the destiny of our world."

He, just as the others, had endured many things in that future where none of them could actually aspire to do more because the world was in stagnation. Life wasn't easy, all of them suffered in order to survive, as the only way was to do so was to belong to one of the rising empires that ruled the new world. One of them was the Harwey Family, having staked claim to sixty percent of the world. Another was the Kingdom of England, or what remained of the European Union, which Dan belonged to. It held twenty percent. Another ten was controlled by an organization known as the Atlas Institute. In the past it had been one of the three branches of the Mage's Association along with the Clock Tower and Sea of Astray.

During the purge, it was destroyed just like the other branches, but after everything died down, people began to reunite there. It was no longer a place to teach magic; it became a fortress where people who didn't have anywhere to go could stay. The one who made all that possible was Sialim Eltman Re-Atlasia, the sole survivor of the carnage. Still no one knew how she managed that.

The last ten percent of the world was composed of the many organizations that rebelled against the Harwey family and tried to break the grip they had over the world. Even though Dan respected their ideas, he just saw it as a waste of energy since it was just a matter of time before the Harweys ended up controlling the world in its entirety. After all, even though they still had control over their respective territories, both the Atlas Institute and the Kingdom of England were their allies.

But that wasn't the reason Dan would follow the Harwey boy for the time being. He really wanted to change his world; he didn't want to live in a place where no one could aspire to do anything, but most of all he hoped that if the world were different then maybe his wife would still be at his side. He had lived as a soldier with a life full of regrets, but he never looked back because everything he did was for the sake of a single person, the woman he loved.

As the old man continued to stare at the city, a younger man wearing green clothes with spiky ginger hair and bangs covering his left eye appeared behind him.

"What's wrong, boss? Don't tell me you're still against the plan."

Dan turned to the Servant clad in green and looked at him seriously.

"Tell me, Archer, you really don't feel there's anything wrong about it?"

Archer sighed. He would be lying if he said he didn't have any objections, but he had done similar things many times in life, no wonder it became his Noble Phantasm. Even while he could claim it had been for the sake of the people from that kingdom, the fact that he had used many questionable methods was undeniable.

"Look boss, I'm not saying I'm happy about it, but the blond kid has a point, and it's a very good plan that will get rid of our enemies in an easy way."

Dan went back to looking at the city from the balcony.

"A soldier knows how to adapt, Archer; we need to defeat the enemy. Nothing else matters," he said in a voice devoid of emotion.

Archer of White looked at him and disappeared. Part of him couldn't help but be curious about tomorrow, and whether he would meet another side of his Master: the soldier.

* * *

As for the seven young Masters, after their introductions Zelretch had given them a list with pictures of the Masters from the other factions. Each of the seven recognized some of the people from the list, and while some had mixed feelings about fighting them, many saw this as an opportunity to settle some old grudges.

Still, it was nearing midnight and Zelretch told them where their rooms were before disappearing. Apparently he had taken the liberty of putting all their personal belongings inside. Six of the seven Masters decided to sleep, but when Edward went to follow, Sakura stopped him.

"Edward-san, can I have a moment?"

Edward just stood there and waited until the others left before taking a seat on the couch. Saber appeared and sat at his side. Sakura took a chair and positioned herself in front of him.

"So Sakura what do you want to know?"

"I was just wondering how you recognized me."

"Why? I don't think it such a big deal."

"I'm just curious." She said with a smile.

"Your voice…" He said while looking at the ceiling.

"Excuse me?"

"…your voice…it's the only thing that seemed that didn't change between the two of you."

He lowered his head to look at her just to find an expression of surprise in her face.

"Is it weird that I recognize you because of it?"

"No it's alright." She said with a laugh. "I was just surprised, I mean even my sister failed to recognize me after I changed my appearance."

"Really…? I thought that Rin would notice right away."

Sakura laughed. "You have no idea how dense she could be." She said before pausing thoughtfully. "So, I assume the Sakura you met must mean a lot to you."

"Yeah, she was someone very important to me." He said that with a sad smile.

She had learned to read people from her mother, so she assumed something must have happened to that version of her and was wondering if she was dead when he spoke breaking her line of tough.

"You aren't wrong but you aren't right either." He said as if reading her mind.

"So what happened?"

"I failed her. I protected her, but I never noticed the scars in her heart," he said, standing up. "In the end I forced her to bear a greater burden than she deserved."

"But I don't understand, does it mean your relationship changed?"

"No. Well, I don't know," he said with a chuckle. "I haven't seen her in some time so I don't know if she still considers me a friend."

His words left her thinking. Sometimes she wondered how her life would have been if her mother hadn't saved her from that pit of soul-sucking bugs, what would have happened to her if she had been alone in that hell.

"Hey, Sakura, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"I don't mind. Go ahead, Hellhound."

"Are you happy?"

She was taken by surprise. She never expected him to ask her that, but still she decided to answer with the truth.

"Yes."

"I'm happy for you, then," he said as he began to walk again. Saber followed him. "Goodnight, Sakura, and thanks. It was good to talk with an old friend." He waved a hand.

"Hellhound, wait ..."

The boy stopped walking, Saber doing the same at his side.

"Zelretch asked something stupid of all of you, and all have accepted," she said, standing up. "But tell me, what do you think you can accomplish?"

The young man didn't turn around, and Saber looked at him with worry.

"It's simple, to protect."

"You can't save everyone."

"I know, I don't intend to."

"Then you intend to save the highest possible amount of people? Like Emiya Kiritsugu?"

"How dare you!" Saber snapped but her Master stopped her.

"As I said, I'm not a savior. I will protect these people from other Masters, but I will let them decide their own fate. I'm not like him; I can't sacrifice what is important to me for an ideal; no matter how beautiful an ideal it may be, I can't follow it." He grabbed Saber's hand. "My path is a simple one, Sakura. I will protect my loved ones and help those who I see need it."

Even though his words didn't seem any different from the ideal of the magus killer, she understood that they were different. He wouldn't live his life trying to save people; he would help others but still try to achieve his own happiness.

"Goodnight, Edward Hellhound. It was interesting to talk with you."

The young man went to his room, and once the girl was alone, a figure appeared at her side.

"I can't believe you were eavesdropping on my conversation, Ruler."

"Sorry, m'lady,"

Sakura looked carefully at the blonde woman with violet eyes standing beside her. Zelretch didn't trust any of the Counter Guardians sent to supervise the other factions, so if it came to the point where they needed to take them down, they would need all the help they could get. That was the reason from bringing Sakura of Colchis from another world. The supervisor selected by Alaya had been Jeanne d'Arc, another member of the counter force, but he had managed to convince Sakura and Jeanne to make a contract during the war.

"Tell me Ruler, what you think of them?" she asked the Servant.

Ruler remained silent for a second.

"They are an interesting group. If they manage to work together, they could actually win. Each of them is unique and seems to complement the others very well."

Sakura just nodded.

"But I have some doubts about their personalities. I know I can't expect them all to be good people... I only wonder if they would actually get along."

"Well I guess time will tell but for now I think I'll just keep an eye on them."

* * *

Within the castle of the Faction of Zero, Aldebaran found himself in the room of Matou Kariya. He could describe the situation of the young man as fascinating. The man had worms inside his body that were slowly killing him, but still he had managed to endure that pain with strength of will alone. The butler had met few people with such determination. But if that was all, his death was a given and he couldn't imagine him winning.

The man in question was now lying on the floor of his room, gasping for air. The butler didn't think it was strange. After all, his Servant was a Berserker, and even in spirit form the worms continued to feed on him.

Aldebaran exited the room and continued to walk through the house. His reason was simple: he just wanted to know more about his faction. For him, this war was one big source of amusement. Unlike Kaus who hated humans or Situla who was curious, he didn't feel anything toward them. He saw them as puppets in a play. He didn't care what they would do; he was only interested in the spectacle. If the puppets ended up broken, he'd just wait for the next show. In other words, he wasn't interested in humans themselves, but in their actions.

Still, he always had his guard up, even knowing none of the Masters would be able to beat him. None of them trusted him, and it was fine since he didn't trust them either. He knew the magus killer was observing all his movements with the familiars Aldebaran himself had provided him. He knew that Kayneth was searching for a way, in his arrogance, to defeat him so he could restore his honor after the humiliation from when they first met.

As the butler continued to walk, he came across a bearded man with crimson hair even taller than him wearing bronze Greek armor and a red mantle over his shoulders.

"Rider," the butler said, making a small bow. "What business could you have with me?"

The Servant looked at the butler with a gaze that contained both interest and distrust.

"Tell me something, Counter Guardian, would you join my army?" he asked with a smirk.

The butler didn't react in any great way. He just raised his head and smiled.

"I don't know. It depends on how much you can entertain me."

"Oh, so if I promised you a life free from boredom, you would follow me?"

"Maybe. You see, my services aren't free of charge, so I should first make you sure you can fulfill your end of the bargain."

The Servant laughed.

"You are an interesting guy."

"So are you, but I really doubt you can pay my price."

"Is that so?"

"You are welcome to prove me wrong, King of Conquerors." That being said, Aldebaran disappeared.

* * *

Kousuke continued to inspect his room. All that he needed was there: his black kimono, the ancient scroll and book from his family bloodline. There was even some of his manga and DVDs and a small television he assumed he could use to relax during downtime.

When he turned to see Caster, he knew something wasn't right. Since they entered the house she had remained silent.

"Tamamo, is something wrong?" he asked as he walked up to her and caressed her cheek.

The fox-girl said nothing for a moment.

"Goshujin-sama, I'm alright," she said with a fake smile.

He knew straight away she was lying. It was probably because of the new information they got.

"Please, you know you can tell me anything. Right?"

"I'm worried."

"Tamamo…"

"I thought that after the last war it would be over, that you wouldn't need to risk your life for something like this. And don't misunderstand, Kousuke, I'm happy that I managed to meet you again, but I think it's unfair that you were chosen."

The young man didn't say anything. He just hugged her, completely understanding her feelings. He knew it wasn't fair that the old man asked so much from them, but he couldn't run and leave those people to die. He wasn't that kind of person, but he also understood that saying something in this situation would only make her worry even more, so he remained silent and held her.

* * *

In his room, Breno sat on the edge of his bed and couldn't stop thinking about the last thing he remembered before appearing in that white room. His Servant, Rider, was sitting in a brown chair while drinking a glass of wine. The room had a portable wine cooler with a very good selection, so fine that the Pharaoh didn't object and drank quietly, trying to savor all of it.

Still, Breno remembered how he fought a man with dark clothes and a katana, how he had been beaten with ease, how with his first strike the unknown man had pierced his left lung.

"Rider, do you remember that other War, the one in Lyon, France?"

The Servant didn't answer, but Breno didn't pay him much attention.

"You remember being defeated…"

In that moment, the glass of wine shattered and all its content were spilled on the carpet floor. Rider looked at him angrily.

"Don't you dare say I was defeated, peon!"

Breno paid no mind to the outburst of his Servant. He wasn't surprised, as he knew that it had been a wound to his pride, but he needed to be sure of his memories.

"You remember that in my rage after losing the Roux girl, when I was so close to achieving my vengeance, I ordered you to fight that Berserker claiming I would take care of the Master."

Rider seemed annoyed remembering how that monster had destroyed his chariot and how he'd been beaten to a pulp. He could still recall the pain of having his arm broken and being killed while he continued to claim he wouldn't lose to a mere beast.

He blamed his Master for that, as he had let his emotions take control of him, and more than that he had dared to order him around, him of all people. He was the great Ramses II, but the Command Seals didn't let him try anything funny, and even when he disliked his Master, he knew there were bigger problems, like that black swordsman who no matter how many times he was hit didn't receive a single wound.

But his thoughts were interrupted by two words he never expected to hear from his Master.

"I'm sorry."

The Pharaoh was speechless and couldn't say anything in response, so the two remained silent.

* * *

Atosaki walked through the hallways of the house searching for Edward's room. She had forgotten to return his jacket.

She was beginning to feel lost when she saw him walking with a red swordswoman and ran to him with the jacket in her hands.

"Edward-san!" she called.

He turned to her.

"Hey there, you need something?" he asked.

"I just came to return this," she said, handing him his jacket.

"Thanks," he said with a smile. "Where's Lance?"

"In our room." She seemed embarrassed saying that.

"He let you come here on your own?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I know he was giving me the evil eye when I gave this to you."

"I understand how he feels," Saber said.

"You just want another kiss," he said while looking at Saber, and before she could say anything back, he returned to Atosaki. "I'm sorry, really."

Atosaki was confused by his words.

"For what?"

"I know you were bothered when I told you about cutting off other Masters' arms."

"So you won't do it?" she asked hopefully.

"Trust me when I say I don't want to, but I know from experience that some people will stop at nothing in order to get the Grail," he said.

"...Does that mean you have done it before, Edward-san?"

"Yeah."

"Edward-san... I don't agree with it, but if this way we don't need to kill others, then I think I'll have to accept it."

"Thanks for understanding. Goodnight."

* * *

Kotomine Shirou entered a secret room inside the church. In its center, Pleiades stood looking at something. As Shirou continued to her side, he saw a massive gladiator held back by many pillars of light.

"Any chance he can escape?" the priest asked.

"At least not right now."

The priest smiled.

"Then everything is ready for tomorrow, Pleiades?"

"Yes, yes it is," the blond woman said.

The priest went on smiling, and with that the first night drew to a close.

* * *

Well, here I am on the edge of my seat. I really do hope you're enjoying the ride, I know I am. I'm just curious, what do you think of the original characters' faction? Anything you want to see from them? To me, they add such a great element of surprise... Almost anything could happen! Thanks for reading. -Editor

The first night is over and make your guesst about the next fight, Just to make an aclaration in this world there is no Josephine Roux, so Breno wont be so crazy and cant be a little different as he is no longer consumed by hs obssesion, that doesnt mean he would change completely. Still please review !

I change the part about the list of masters as after reading a comment i realize it would be unfair, thanks coronadomontes and i hope you can keep helping me with your opinions.


	8. Chapter 7 Alliances

I don't own any characters except my own OC. The other OCs appearing in this story are property of the following authors:

Deux Silences - Atosaki Kurokawa

Suchbass - Kage

Nomorenamesleft - Yagami Kousuke

Count Valerian - Kirsche Von Einzbern.

Topographic Ocean - Breno Da Roche

AzarielKayras - Leo Wells

I thank you for lending them to me. Now, to the story!

* * *

Chapter 7

He felt pain; he felt how, slowly, life was being drained from his body. He felt himself dying, but he didn't know or remember what had happened. He had been exploring the city with his Servant and Saber of Black when he found another Master and a fight began. His side was winning, none of the enemy Servants able to harm Saber of Black despite fighting two-on-one.

He kind of saw it coming. The moment the six other Servants were summoned, Lancer of Black had taken great interest in the swordsman. After Darnic managed to obtain his real name from his Master Gordes, a fat blond man who was the most loyal to him, the black spearman declared Saber would be a key piece in their strategy.

Caules found it weird that the Servant of the spear had such authority. In the time he had seen them together, it seemed almost that Darnic was the Servant and Lancer of Black was the Master. They both shared a lack of expectation in him. Even while Lancer believed Berserker was a good general like the other Servants, he viewed Caules as a weak point with his lack of skill.

That was the reason he didn't let him go alone to explore the city, sending Saber along with him so there wouldn't be problems. But Lancer couldn't predict the actions of that young man with the black coat. Even with Saber and Berserker at his side, Caules had been shot and soon found himself dying. The last thing he saw before everything went black was the worried face of his Servant. It didn't make sense; according to legend, Frankenstein was a monster that had killed countless people, which caused the villagers to hunt him down and make him hide. But the story describe him as a horrid male instead of a beautiful girl, so maybe it had been wrong all along.

The boy slowly opened his eyes. After staring at the ceiling for a few moments, he tried to identify the room. Seconds passed before he realized he was back in the castle. He turned his head to the left and found Berserker of Black seated at his side, looking at him. The moment she saw him wake up, he swore he saw a little smile on her face. At the beginning he wouldn't have believed it, but then he remembered. Someone must have brought him back to the castle. Once Berserker stood, he saw the bloodstains over her pretty outfit.

"Sorry, for your dress," the boy was barely able to say, his throat dry.

"It's… alright… Master," Berserker said, surprising the boy.

He never thought she could talk, a skill not many Berserkers had, but that wasn't all. He was surprised because of her expression. She seemed relieved, happy that he wasn't dead. With each moment that went by, the images of her evoked by the legend began to break. He tried to recall it.

The monster didn't kill anyone for pleasure. The kid had been an accident, she didn't dare hurt the old man who welcomed her into his house, and she only killed the family of Victor Frankenstein because he had rejected the very idea of giving her a mate, because of the pain of being left alone, because of the rage and agony of being rejected, never for pleasure.

That was something Caules understood very well. To the other members of the clan he was nothing but a replacement, a tool in case Fiore couldn't succeed Darnic. He felt rejected by everyone, and that was why he tried to search for a different path, one in which he could find happiness, yet the War stopped him at the moment his Command Seal appeared and he with the others went to that room.

Caules didn't want the Grail, even while he enjoyed being a magus for the sole reason that he could see absurd phenomena that went against logic. But as he continued to study the face of his Servant, he understood the reason why she felt so relieved: she didn't want to be left alone again.

* * *

Kirsche left the house early, deciding to explore the city as last night she didn't have a real chance to do it. She wore a dark blue military-style ensemble, only the customary cape left from it. One of the few things that make her stay bearable was the fact Zelretch had brought her custom Porsche and parked it in the house's garage. She continued to drive and began to wonder what kind of faces the others would make when they found her note, and what would they do afterwards.

Then, while driving through the streets, she recognized a very familiar person, an androgynous young boy with pink hair. No one would have believed he was male, but he had been her Servant back in the War of her world, so she knew for sure. Astolfo, the Twelfth Paladin of Charlemagne, was his name. She stopped the car and watched him for a while.

The paladin didn't seem any different from her memories. He had a smile on his face and walked with curiosity of every building he saw. Truth to be told, she was angry at the fact that she wasn't given a Rider, but a Berserker. It wasn't to say she didn't recognize the power of her Berserker, but as a noblewoman she wanted a more dignified Servant. As a matter of fact, she never fully understood how her sister could prefer a Berserker over the other classes.

She got out of the car and went to a nearby cafeteria for breakfast. She sat and ordered a cup of espresso with some ham and eggs. She saw the same young boy, who was wearing a purple hoodie with bunny ears on top of a white V-neck t-shirt along with what appeared to be a black skirt with matching leggings plus purple sneakers, standing inside the cafeteria, remembering all the problems he had caused her when she decided to avoid him and prevent any incidents so her morning wouldn't be ruined. She flagged down a waitress and told her to call the paladin to her table.

"Good morning, mademoiselle, I appreciate the invitation."

"You're welcome," she said with a fake smile.

It had to be noted that the paladin was in no way stupid or naïve. He acted in a carefree way but his senses and instincts were sharp enough to let him react in the best way to any possible situation. They were telling him that this girl was in no way normal. He accepted her invitation for two simple reasons, the first being that he was a gentleman and as for the second, he had heard his Master talk about a rule about fighting only at night. That was the very reason wandered the streets instead of being with his faction.

"Still, in order to thank you properly I should ask your name," he said, smiling.

"Oh, you ask a lady's name without revealing yours first? You need to learn some manners," Kirsche said, feigning indignation.

"Deepest apologies, my lady, the name is Astolfo," the paladin said.

"Astolfo? You have a weird name," she said, "and it doesn't seem fitting for a girl."

"A girl?" The paladin seemed confused by her words. "I'm a man though."

Kirsche knew, but she wanted to play with him a little.

"You are wearing a skirt."

"So…? I like cute clothes," he said cheerfully.

Before she could reply, Astolfo raised his hand and called the waitress to order something for himself.

A short while passed and the two finished eating. Kirsche asked for the entire check since the paladin didn't have any money with him. Another weird thing about this city was the existence of currency. Kirsche didn't have the slightest idea how the other citizens covered their expenses, but Zelretch had said that none of the Masters needed to pay. It was another one of the ways they didn't need to worry about anything besides killing each other.

Kirsche began to think a little. For a war, the world was being unusually fair. According to Zelretch, all the supervisors of the other factions had been ordered to provide the Masters with any and all equipment they needed.

The paladin was smiling while looking at her when he stood up.

"Sorry, I need to go. Thanks for the treat, mademoiselle," he said, absolutely beaming by now.

"Kirsche."

"What?"

"My name is Kirsche," she said.

The paladin just nodded before leaving the cafeteria. Kirsche watched him go, thinking it would be a shame that her Berserker would kill him, but it couldn't be helped. The waitress came and she just showed her Command Seal. The waitress blindly began to pick up the dishes. Kirsche stood up and went back the car. She hadn't finished looking around.

* * *

Inside the base of the White Faction, a boy with short blue hair lay over one of the couches, observing the ceiling. At his side was a disk Leo had asked him to do something with last night. It wasn't too difficult; Leo requested he develop for him a program which could find the other Masters. To anyone else that would be crazy, as normally only magi could detect each other. He and the members of his faction, even while they had magic circuits, weren't truly magi and didn't have any way to feel others. However, there was a way to circumvent the issue. The moment any human decided to use magic, the release of prana caused the temperature of their bodies to rise. Simply put, he'd use heat sensors.

Leo entered the living room and looked at the blue-haired boy who had on a brown school uniform, a laptop at his side and a cup of coffee on the floor. Seeing the CD made the blond young man smile.

"It seems you finished. I'm surprised you managed to do it in one night."

The boy just smirked at him as he sat up.

"Who do you think I am?"

"I agree that you live up to the name of 'Reigning Champion in Asia.' Shinji Matou, let me congratulate you for your work," Leo said.

He needed to give the boy some credit. Even though his family hadn't been able to locate him before, even with all their resources, he never believed him to be a thirteen-year-old boy. After all, who would have thought that the greatest hacker in their world would turn out a mere kid?

"All of that is good, but how do you intend to use this program?"

Shinji was asking him a fair question. In order to use it throughout the city, they would need something like surveillance cameras all over, and they had neither the time nor manpower to do this. In that very moment, Kaus appeared with a bag in his left hand. The dragon knight seemed aggravated, and that expression alone was enough to make Shinji tremble with fear.

"I got what you asked for, now don't bother me," the knight said, looking at Leo with cold eyes.

"I won't, and trust me, if I could get these things on my own, I wouldn't even see you, dog of Alaya," Leo said hatefully.

"Don't talk back to me, human!" Kaus said as he was surrounded by a black aura.

Gawain appeared at his Master's side and the two knights confronted each other, the pressure alone seeming about to break the air. Shinji felt himself being killed by the aura of those two, but more so by the dragon knight. There was nothing but darkness, a mix of hate, rage and, was it, sorrow?

Yes, this was a product of betrayal. He had loved humans once, but they let him down and all his love turned into pure loathing.

Shinji was about to crack when a woman with long, salmon-colored hair, appeared behind him with a hand on his shoulder. She wore pirate's clothing and had a scar across her face. Her touch managed to calm him before Kaus decided to back down. Normally he wouldn't, but Antares had warned him not to do anything to the contestants.

Such a hypocrite, he talked as if he were a good person, Kaus thought as he was covered in shadows and disappeared.

After silence was allowed to momentarily reign in that room, Leo grabbed the bag Kaus had left on the floor and began to walk away.

"You must be more careful," the pirate woman said, trying to soothe the blue-haired boy.

Gawain seemed annoyed by the comment.

"You dare to lecture my king?" he asked.

"Take it as you want, but you know my Master isn't the combative type, and moreover he is just a kid, so take your fights outside," Rider of White said, defensive.

"You're right," said Leo, stopping Gawain. "My apologies to you two."

Rider took her Master with her as she left the room. Leo just remained there, unable to understand how that Counter Guardian could make him act differently, how he could make him feel so much hate. Maybe it was because he hated him a lot, so it was fair to return the feelings. Another reason could be Kaus' very nature. He could be described as someone who only brought chaos and death with him, while Leo as a king tried to create order. Leo didn't know, and he decided it would be better to stop thinking about it.

He was about to return to his room when a snow-white dove came through the open window, a small piece of paper wrapped around its leg. The moment he opened the scroll and read the message, Leo became very intrigued.

* * *

The pirate carried Shinji to the second floor of the house. He was shaking and she couldn't blame the boy. Even she felt fear when she saw that black aura, and even a villain like her couldn't stand such darkness to the point she wondered how all that hate hadn't destroyed him. She took Shinji to his room.

"Thanks…" the boy murmured as she put him on his bed.

The pirate has never been good with children, but for some reason she liked the boy. At the beginning she cursed her luck because her Master was a child. Her opinion changed as she watched him work all night without a break, the coffee something she had been drinking while observing him.

"You need to man up! You can't cower in fear just because of a fight, kid," she said in an attempt to make him forget the incident.

"Sh… Shut up!" Shinji snapped.

"Yes, just like that," she said while patting him on the head with a tipsy grin.

"Stop that, you drunkard!" Shinji said, trying to remove her hand.

* * *

At the church, the priest was sitting in the chapel along with Assassin, awaiting an answer to be returned by her familiar. Assassin of Red could use doves as such. They had searched the city last night, and with them he saw the battle between the two Lancers and managed to find the base of the White Faction by following that clown woman. Still, he had a plan. His advantage was that no one knew he was a man with many Servants, so he needed to keep that secret as long as he could. The easiest way was to lead the others into believing he was the Master of just one.

This War could not be won alone since there were so many competitors at this stage. Making alliances was something that he needed to do.

"Are you sure about this?" his Servant asked as she appeared behind him.

"No, but he is the only one I know from another faction, so why not give it a shot?"

"I hope you know what you are doing."

The priest turned to her, raised his hand and placed it on her cheek. He smiled.

"Worried about me?"

Assassin of Red swatted at his hand and glared at him.

"No, I'm worried that I will lose my source of mana and I won't be able to fulfill my wish."

"Is that so?" he said with a chuckle. "Then I will be careful."

As they continued to watch each other, a third figure appeared, a man with brown hair and a beard wearing Victorian clothing. He clutched a book and a quill pen in his hands and had an expression of earnest excitement on his face.

"Please, continue, this story is rich. The woman is worried about her lord but she doesn't dare show it, and he has such great will that he would do anything in order to achieve his goals." The man began to write things down like crazy. "Oh, I can already see the tragic events that will come and make this story a piece of art!"

Shirou sighed while Assassin blushed at his words.

"Please don't jinx me Caster. I really don't want my story to be a tragedy. Also, what did I tell you about using your abilities?"

"Don't worry Master, this is a regular book and pen. You know that writing is part of my nature."

"I suppose if that's what makes you happy, you are free to continue." Caster seemed delighted by his words, and then he turned to Assassin, holding in his laughter. "Are you really so worried about me that you can't say it?"

She turned once again completely red and didn't know how to answer him.

"I don't have time for this," she said as she disappeared.

"I think I went too far," he said to Caster, although the playwright wasn't paying him any attention.

He sighed again, and at that moment a dove came with an answer to his proposal. When he read it, the priest just smiled.

* * *

Rider of Black returned to the castle and changed into his armor before going to the living room in which he had first been summoned along with Saber, Berserker and Archer. He found his Master, a mature-looking woman with silver hair tied back in a ponytail. She wore the usual clothes of the clan along with a black skirt and leggings.

"Mademoiselle Celenike, did you call?"

Celenike looked at him with a smirk and Rider couldn't help but get a bad feeling. His Master was a practitioner of the dark arts, and he didn't really know what that meant for him, but he was a little bothered that she smelled so much like blood. Not that he was saint or anything, he also smelled like it, but as he would reiterate, he was a gentleman, and he thought that it wasn't right for a woman to have such a scent.

"As you know," she started to say, "Caules got shot last night and there was a fight at the castle door."

"How could I forget? Lancer threatened that if Archer and I dared to intervene, he would kill us too."

"Well, since the boy can't move for a while and he didn't finish exploring the city, Lord Darnic and Lancer decided to assign the task to someone else. God, that kid is useless. You and Saber should be able to do it. I know you like to go out, so this is your chance," she finished and began to leave.

Normally Rider would be happy that he was allowed to do what he wanted and that it was okay because it was a mission, but he didn't like that way his Master talked about that young man. He had only seen Caules during the summoning, but he seemed like a nice guy who even answered him on Berserker's behalf when he asked her name.

He decided to check on Berserker of Black and her Master before he'd search for Saber and leave.

* * *

At the castle of the Faction of Zero, five people found themselves discussing important matters. It was just Kayneth who didn't want to accept the new plan; the others had agreed with one another. Besides Kayneth, Kiritsugu, Tokiomi, Waver and Kirei, there was only one Master who was left out, Kariya, as they decided he needed to save all the strength he could since Berserker was a very valuable asset.

Using the familiars Aldebaran had given him, Kiritsugu had seen the battles that had begun around the city. He couldn't deny that it was a good but dangerous idea, to strike in the very beginning before anyone put up their defenses, but that didn't leave much time for preparation, so a stronger Servant could possibly win against them. He had also seen a battle between two Lancers and after seeing the victor turn into a Dead Apostle, he recognized the black spearman as Vlad III.

In any case, they have agreed to continue using Assassin to gather information and let the other Servants kill each other. At the beginning Rider protested, arguing that wasn't the way a war should be, but he stopped when Kiritsugu asked him and Waver to look for Caster. He was worried as the only one who'd gone missing was that boy with orange hair.

Still Kayneth didn't agree, as he believed that was the same as hiding cowardly. In a way he was right, but at the same time he was wrong. Kiritsugu had decided this because of numbers; there were thirty-four Servants out there and acting reckless could mean dying like that clown. And so they would move at night since they couldn't leave everything to Assassin, but the plan was to avoid battle if possible in order to gain some advantage over the other groups. But Kayneth, in his arrogance, didn't notice this. They couldn't just charge in; they needed a way to find the other Masters, to create a strategy. It would take him a couple of days. The war was just starting and they had time, or so they thought.

* * *

On top of a tall building, a young priest and a young man with fair hair found themselves looking at each other.

"I'm glad you could make it here. I'm Shirou Kotomine," the priest said with his usual false smile.

"Leonardo B. Harwey. Nice to meet you, Shirou-san."

"You must be wondering why I called you here, right?" he asked.

"I do, but why did you address me in particular?"

"Eh? I didn't, I just sent it to the house. You being the one to receive it was just a coincidence."

"I see. So what do you need from me, Shirou-san?"

"As the leader of the Red Faction, I propose to you, Leonardo, an alliance between us until the number of enemies reduces to half."

"What are the conditions?"

"So you are going to accept?"

"I didn't say that. Only a fool takes or rejects something without fully knowing what it involves."

"Fair enough. We will work on our own, but we are free to go to each other for help. I'm willing to reveal the name of my Servant as part of the agreement."

"What about the others Servants of your faction?"

"They have their Masters, I can't speak for them."

"Which is your Servant?"

"Berserker," the priest lied. "So, do we have a truce?"

Shirou extended his hand. Leo thought about it for a moment before making his move. It was something he didn't know at the moment, but this would be one of the turning points in the War.

He reached for the offered hand.

* * *

Alright another one done, remember that the original body of Shinji in a kid but to I make him a little older, The other factions began to move and alliances are born. Feel free to leave any suggestions for the next review.


	9. Chapter 8 Family Bonds

Chapter 8: Family Bonds

A man seated in the living room of a house watched two little girls playing happily with each other. One had silver hair with blue eyes and wore a beautiful white dress. The second was a near identical copy of the first, the only difference being that she had on a black dress.

The man wore a black leather coat with a crown of feathers adorning the neck. He didn't know why he was even watching the two girls. They could be mistaken by twins, but he knew they weren't. To his horror the little girl was a Master, her Servant a clone. He wasn't sure about her class, as they would always refer to themselves by a single name, Alice.

"Mister Julius!" the two girls called as they walked up to him. "Please play with us."

The petite girls both wore a smile.

Julius flinched at their words. He didn't know what to say. No, that would be a lie, he knew he could have said "yes" or "no" and, as he continued to look at those eyes full of expectancy, he found himself about to surrender and play with them. And then he stopped himself. He couldn't do that. It would mean acting like a human, and he had stopped being one a long time ago. He was only a tool, one for Leo to use to become the perfect king.

"Mister Julius, you don't want to play?" the white-dressed Alice asked him.

The man in black didn't answer her.

As the girls began to lower their heads in disappointment, Rider of White appeared atop the staircase that led to the second floor.

"Hey there little girls, there's a boy here crying like crazy, so come and cheer him up, would ya?" she said with a smirk.

"I'm not crying!" The voice of Shinji could be heard from upstairs. "Also, I'm just doing this because I promised, alright!"

The girls giggled before climbing the stairs toward the blue-haired boy. Julius sighed in relief as he saw the girls leave and even blocked out the glare of distrust coming from Rider.

As the pirate disappeared, he felt another presence behind him.

"You could play with them, you know."

"Assassin. Not now," he said simply, ignoring the person behind him.

"Why not? Come on Julius, there is no one here. I'm sure you can satisfy my curiosity a little."

"Shut up."

"Just tell me."

"Shut up."

"Come on, let me guess. You don't want to play?"

"I told you to shut up!"

"Is it because you hate them?"

"SHUT UP!" Julius snapped as he stood and turned to the man behind him. "It is not that."

"Then tell me."

He murmured something Assassin couldn't hear.

"What was that?"

"I… I don't… want to taint them."

Assassin understood, as he, just like Julius, had the blood of many people on his hands, yet he didn't regret it. It was true he had gone astray and brought shame to the school that taught him how to fight, but he couldn't feel regret, as that would mean regretting the fights he had with many people he respected. Assassin, though a murderer, believed that those people he met and fought to the death were at the same time his closest friends. As they exchanged fists, they learned everything about the other. At the same time he understood Julius' words. Those girls were pure, or at least the human was, so it was better to not let them associate themselves with murderers. He knew what his Master wished and chose to remain silent.

* * *

When Rider of Black had almost reached Caules' room, he came across a girl in a wheelchair and a man with long green hair wearing brown Greek armor behind her.

"Hey there, Archer!" the paladin called to the bowman before turning to the girl with a small bow. "Bonjour, Mademoiselle Fiore."

"Good morning, Rider," she said with a weak smile.

"Rider, I thought you went to go wander the city."

"My Master called me back. I was about to go out again, but I decided to check on Berserker and her Master. It seems I wasn't the only one," Rider said with his usual grin.

But at his words the young girl lowered her head, as if saying that he was wrong. Rider's smile faded the moment he saw that and before he could speak, Archer grabbed his arm and moved a little down the hallway.

"Rider, please don't."

"Archer, tell me one reason she could possibly have to ignore her brother," the paladin said. He was completely serious, his cheerfulness gone.

"There are two reasons, actually," the bowman said, trying to calm him down.

"Explain."

"She doesn't feel she has the right. She told me that last night she asked him before he left what his wish would be, and he said that he didn't have one, but if she were to die he would use it to bring her back."

Rider's eyes widened. He didn't expect that at all. It wasn't the fact that he was a magus who didn't search for the Root like the others, not the fact he didn't have any desire when he could ask the Grail, but the fact that his sister would mean so much to him that he would try to save her.

"Still doesn't make sense. In any case, it should be a reason…" At that moment he understood. "You can't be serious."

"She isn't sure if she would bring him back. There are other things she desires." Archer sighed. "She is conflicted that if it ended up coming between getting her legs back and her brother's life, she may not choose him."

Rider remained serious. He had to use all his will to stop himself from pushing Archer aside and confronting Fiore.

"You told me there was another reason."

"Berserker didn't let her in."

"How does she know if she didn't even try?"

"She doesn't, Berserker only told that to me."

"She can talk?" The paladin was really surprised. "Then why she didn't answer me after the summoning?"

"She is shy, but that's it."

"I don't approve, Archer, and I'm sure you don't either."

"I don't, but it's her choice to make."

"I guess."

The paladin began to walk to the room and stopped in front of Fiore.

"I will visit your brother if it doesn't bother you, Mademoiselle Fiore."

The girl just nodded.

* * *

It was now midday. At the mansion of the Blue Faction, Sakura found herself in her room not knowing what to do. She was scared, scared of her grandfather, scared to fight, scared that Shirou and Rin would end up going against her.

After all she couldn't disobey him. Even though Antares had kicked him out of the house, it didn't change anything. He was still alive and he would come back for her.

"It seems you are thinking about me, Sakura," a voice said.

She felt a shiver go up her spine, unable to move.

"Grand… father?" Fear filled her voice.

"I'm disappointed in you, Sakura. I thought my little granddaughter would give her support when that dog of Alaya decided to attack me."

The girl didn't answer. She continued to tremble in fear and she could feel that the worm magus was smiling, looking at her.

"Well, the past is the past. I want to know how you are going to make it up to me for that."

"Eh?"

"I hope you haven't forgotten, you need to help me get the Grail. That is your duty as a member of the Matou House."

"I … I don't want to fight nee-san or senpai."

"You don't have a choice, my girl. What would they think when they see the real you, when they know you have been lying to them all this time. The Tohsaka will hate you and the son of Emiya will abandon you."

"NO! Anything but that!" she yelled as she began to cry.

"Then there is only one thing you can do, Sakura."

"I… I... I…"

"Come on—" The voice was stopped by a nail-like dagger thrust into the wall.

Sakura raised her head and saw Rider standing at the door. The Servant looked concerned and the moment she walked over, Sakura hugged her and sobbed.

"Don't worry, I will protect you," Rider said softly, stroking her hair.

In a nearby building, Zouken stood smiling. He didn't care that she hadn't yet accepted or that Rider killed the worm he used to talk with Sakura. After all, it fulfilled its mission. A seed had been planted inside of her mind: the seed of doubt.

Back at the house of the sixth faction, Atosaki found herself a little worried. In the morning all went well. They met the maids Zelretch had put in charge of housework. Apparently they were red-headed twin sisters, one wearing a crimson maid outfit, the other a crimson kimono with a white apron on the front. Surprisingly, Sakura had shown discomfort at their appearance, palming her face and asking Zelretch if they were from her world. When he'd answered no, she calmed down, and later called everyone to the living room except for Kirsche and introduced them as Kohaku and Hisui. Atosaki was glad to meet new people, but she was concerned that being with those two put them in danger.

"Don't worry. In any case, it's safer for them to be here where we can protect them, instead of outside at the aim of any master," Leo had reassured her.

She wondered why Leo acted kind to her while with both Edward and Kousuke he seemed a little cold. The day started normally and without problems. Kohaku made lunch even though they all ate at different times. Atosaki expected the same for dinner but was surprised when she found that Leo, Breno, Kousuke and Edward were in the living room helping set the table. She let herself smile a little as Sakura of Colchis appeared and sat down beside her.

The moment she seated herself she noticed a few people were missing.

"Where are Kage-san and Kirsche-san?" Atosaki asked.

"Well, Kage said he would eat later, and Kirsche left early this morning," Edward answered, giving her a piece of paper with a message written on it

"I will go out, don't dare to bother me until I come back."

She laughed nervously. At that moment, the two maids came and served the five Masters as everyone took their seats.

"You sure it's alright to leave her alone, Edward-san?"

"She is a grown girl, and I think she would get mad if I followed her."

"Don't talk as if you aren't doing it," Leo interjected.

"Hey, she's free to destroy the ghost fire if she wants to," he answered as he began to eat.

Atosaki realized that there was a small crimson sphere stuck to the back of her sky-blue dress.

"Edward-san!" she said, standing up, a little embarrassed.

"What's wrong?" He seemed confused.

"You've been watching us all this time?!"

"Uh? No, I just forgot to take them off last night. I remembered this morning and decided to leave them as a way to keep in touch."

"Is that all?" Her face now had a flush of red.

"Yeah, I know it may be uncomfortable, but I can only use it to talk through and sense other presences. I don't really get what else bothers you so much."

Both Caster and Saber appeared.

"Praetor, you must treat a lady better than that. God, what have I taught you?"

"That's right, a girl needs her privacy."

None of the boys understood what they were talking about but still decided to apologize and Edward made the ghost fire disappear, Sakura giggling at this all the while.

In that moment Kirsche returned and saw all the boys saying sorry and couldn't help but smirk at the scene.

"Hey there, Kirsche." She was greeted by Edward. "Want to eat something?"

"No need, Hellhound. I ate outside."

"About that. Where did you go?"

"I was exploring. I must admit, Zelretch did some great work. No one would think this place isn't a real city."

"Is that so?" Breno said as he stood from the table. "Well, I'm going out."

He started walking away.

"Wait, Breno-san. I must say something to all of you," Sakura said.

The six Masters look at her.

"Shouldn't we wait for Kage?" Leo asked.

"He is already here," Sakura said with a smile.

All of them looked to the table and found a young man wearing a gray shirt with black jeans sitting and eating. They realized it was Kage.

"What?" He finally noticed that they were all looking at him.

"How did you do it?" asked Breno.

"He's good. Right, Kousuke?" Edward added, amused.

"Can't deny it."

"It seems the most normal of us is Atosaki," Leo said, smiling.

Sakura brought back order.

"Alright, as I was saying, I would like to ask all of you to call me Ginevra du Lac when introducing me to other people."

"Sakura…" Edward said.

"I don't mind, but why?" Kousuke asked while looking at the sorceress.

"Mostly to avoid problems with the other Masters that, like Edward-san, know another version of me. Also, I like the name."

"That's all?" Breno asked and Sakura nodded. "As I was saying I will be going."

"Alright, we'll see you later."

"Where are you going, Breno-san?" Atosaki asked.

Breno stopped and looked at her for a second and continued to walk, leaving Atosaki confused.

"Fights for the Grail are at night, so we also need to leave for a while," Edward said as he stood along with the others. "See ya, Atosaki-san."

* * *

On the other side of the city, Kayneth, who had decided to act alone, was feeling impatient. He hadn't found a single Master.

"Is it that all? The Masters in this War are cowards!" He was about to lose it.

A green-outfitted man holding two spears wrapped in cloth appeared at his side. He was undeniably handsome, with a beauty mark at the corner of his right eye.

"My lord, I beg you to have more patience."

"Shut up! This is all your fault Lancer, your presence is so weak that none of the other Masters notice it."

"I ask of you your forgiveness," he said, bowing slightly.

He didn't know he was being watched by the Assassin of his very faction.

"You sure we should let him go alone, master?" Kirei asked.

"It can't be helped Kirei-kun." Tokiomi sighed.

"Kirei, go with him. I will also send Saber along with you." Kiritsugu said, lighting a smoke.

"Emiya-san, are you sure?" Tokiomi asked.

The flame magus didn't trust the magus killer at all. His tactics were an insult to magi in general. He resorted to modern equipment and he didn't have any pride. But at the same time, his techniques would be an advantage and as they worked together Tokiomi could learn more and create a strategy to beat them.

When the magus killer nodded and Kirei left the house along with Saber of Zero, Tokiomi decided to go back to his room. He expected to found an annoyed King of Heroes who couldn't tolerate the idea of many mongrels fighting for a treasure he assumed was his possession. He actually found the room empty, making his confusion grow as he wondered where his Servant possibly could have gone. It was such a surprise that he didn't notice Aldebaran wasn't around either.

On the top of a nearby building, the golden Servant stood looking at the sky. Anger filled his entire being. It wasn't because of the thieves trying to steal his treasure or the fact that he, being a king, needed to side with other Heroic Spirits.

No, it was that even after all these centuries he saw Gaia continuing to play with the lives of humans. The very moment he was summoned, he could feel Gaia's influence and knew this charade was just a game created by her.

"Even after all this time, you continue to play with others, Gaia, and keep using these dogs for that."

"Please, King of Heroes, you don't need to be so rude," Aldebaran said, showing up behind him.

"You dare to stand as an equal to me? Mongrel!"

In that instant a golden portal appeared at his side and a gilded axe went flying toward the butler. It didn't reach him. Aldebaran grabbed the axe with ease once it came a few centimeters away.

"Not bad. I can't believe you'd forsaken a life with the blessing of the gods. Maybe in that case your weapon would have reached me."

"Mongrel, I am a king. No king kneels before anyone, not even the gods. If I did, I wouldn't have any pride and end up a mere slave just like you."

The Counter Guardian smiled.

"So tell me, the reason you called me here is to insult me?"

"No, I think I should use you to punish the World for making me participate is such an absurd game."

"I see. But King of Heroes, do you really expect to be a match for me?"

"Are you calling me weak, mongrel?!" Gilgamesh demanded as many portals began to open behind him.

Aldebaran just smirked in anticipation. After all, an opportunity where the observer could partake in the show was rare.

"Well, I can't harm participants, but if it's in self-defense, I guess I could play a little with you, golden boy," Aldebaran said as a silver aura began to surround him. "Please try not to die so fast!"

The butler dashed at him.

"Insolent fool!" Gilgamesh roared as the weapons stored inside the Gate of Babylon were shot at the Counter Guardian.

Explosions burst on the top of the building. Far away they were being watched by a female Archer with green hair, cat ears and a tail, wearing a green and yellow dress with black leggings. She was the only witness of the battle that was happening.

"So it begins," she whispered.

* * *

At the entrance of the house, Edward, now sporting a black long sleeve t-shirt with a red vest and black pants, was waiting for someone.

"Praetor." Saber sounded annoyed. "How long do we need to wait? I mean that guy who had the black coat and the one with a tie already left."

"Saber, they have names. Also, since when do you care about what others do?"

"Well…" She didn't know how to answer.

"Just tell me you're bored," he said, making her blush.

"I… how dare…"

At her struggle he just laughed and put his hand on her cheek.

"Stupid Praetor," she said in a whisper.

"So the great emperor is reduced to a schoolgirl, I can't believe it," Caster said with a grin while appearing in the room.

"Caster, please don't be like that," said Kousuke, who was now wearing a black kimono with a red haori, while leaning against the wall, his sword at his right side.

"But Goshujin-sama, it's so fun!" she said with smile.

"Well, leaving all that aside, I wonder why Atosaki-san I taking so long."

"By the way, Edward-kun, why do I need to tag along with you?" Kousuke asked with no other reason than curiosity.

"I think the same, Hellhound," Leo said, entering the room. He was now wearing a silver jacket with a white shirt.

"I have a first name, Leo, and to answer your question, I don't know. Atosaki just told me to wait for her."

The two Masters look at him doubtfully.

"Guys, I'm ready, sorry for making you wait!" Atosaki's voice was heard and the moment she entered the room, all the boys were left speechless.

She was now wearing a plaid red and black dress with a gray turtleneck as innerwear along with a pink scarf. The three boys agreed she looked pretty. Both Edward and Kousuke felt the glares of their Servants the moment they looked at her, forcing them to quickly turn away.

"You look nice Atosaki, so why do we need to wait?" Leo asked.

"Thanks," she said with a slight blush, but then turned serious. "Please hold out your hands."

The three did as they were told and she put in each of them a smooth rock with a B written on it.

"What is this?" Edward asked.

"Berkano, the tracking rune," Caster said.

"Yep, another one of the runes Lance taught me," she said happily. "It works like your ghost fire, Edward-san, so we can know where everyone is."

They nodded and the four left the house. They asked Kirsche to come along, but she decided she would remain at home. Before they split, Edward give Kousuke the black gem that contained Cerberus and Leo the red one that contained Kyrph.

"In case you need them," he added, and the four split up, Leo with Kousuke and Edward with Atosaki.

Both Leo and Kousuke summoned the beasts and after looking at their master, they let the two ride them.

He saw them fly into the sky and turned to the black-haired girl. Lance suddenly appeared and lifted her bridal style.

"La… Lance!" Atosaki said, a little embarrassed.

Edward watched him begin to the roof of a nearby building and then leap to the others. As he was about to follow, Saber appeared nearby.

"Praetor, me too," she said.

He knew that objecting now would only be a waste of time, and that sometimes he needed to make his emperor happy. He lifted her as his legs were surrounded by flames and he flew to follow the other pair.

* * *

Kayneth had completely lost his patience. He had been wandering for hours in the streets of the city and there was no sign of any Servants. He'd even made Lancer materialize to lure them out, but he failed to notice that this was a war and not simply a competition of magi. No one would just blindly attack since there were so many competitors, moreover because it seemed like a trap.

He reached his breaking point and stopped hiding in the shadows. The very moment he did, a pillar of flames came at him before he could even think of dodging.

If it weren't for Lancer of Zero, he would have been reduced to a pile of ashes.

"Who dares?!"

"You're too noisy. Remember, a magus must remain calm at any moment," Breno said as he made himself visible.

"Couldn't you choose a better target?" Rider complained as he looked at the spearman.

"Don't worry, he is weak." Breno reassured him, causing Kayneth to completely lose his cool.

"Me, weak?!" he yelled as he took a vial of Volumen Hydrargyrum from his pocket. "It seems I need to teach you some manners, you piece of trash. Take care of his Servant, Lancer. The boy is mine."

Lancer nodded and dashed at Rider. The pharaoh summoned his blade and clashed in the middle of the streets with the spearman.

Breno wrapped flames around his arms from the wrists to elbows and got ready for Kayneth's attack.

* * *

Shirou Emiya arrived along with Saber to a park in the middle of the city. He and Rin had decided to go out, but after a while Saber felt a very familiar presence. When she began to run, Shirou followed her.

"Saber," he panted, tired from going so fast. "What's wrong?"

"He is here," Saber said with a smile.

"Who?"

"An old friend."

Gawain then appeared in front of them with Leo at his side. The moment she saw him, Saber couldn't express her happiness over how one of her fellow knights had been summoned. She walked over to greet him, but when she was a few steps away, Gawain drew his sword and pointed it at Saber.

"Gawain?" She couldn't understand.

"Arturia, you are my former king, and I respect you for that. But at present you are a threat to my current one, so get ready," he said coldly.

"You can't be serious! You're a member of the Knights of the Round Table!" Shirou yelled at the silver knight.

"I was, but right now I am the Saber of the White Faction," he said as he dashed at Saber of Blue.

The moment the two sister swords clashed, Saber could feel her heart begin to ache. She was being forced to fight her own relative, her friend, her knight. No one could stop this fight. That was the fate of the silver knight who had sworn that if he received another chance he would protect his king at all costs, even if that meant slaying a person very important to him. The battle between Sabers had begun.

* * *

"What are you doing, my lady?" Hisui asked as Ginevra poured water into a bronze basin with one hand, clutching a jar with her other.

"Preparing for tonight's entertainment," she replied, sitting in a nearby chair and fishing out a cookie from the jar, her free hand used to activate the water mirror. She bit into the cookie as she skimmed across the city, and then promptly spat it out at the sight of Gilgamesh fighting a Counter Guardian. "Your Majesty…!"

* * *

Alright another one done, fight began all over the city and make your bets between Gilgamesh and Aldebaran or Saber and Gawain still its the first time in a long time i put 2 chapters in on week. Alright please review


	10. Chapter 9 Second night

Chapter 9 Second Night

Ginevra couldn't believe what she was seeing, Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, fighting against Aldebaran, but that wasn't the most surprising thing to her. It was the fact that the butler fought on par with him, rapidly dodging the barrage of Noble Phantasms being shot in his direction.

"Come on golden boy, get serious," Aldebaran said with a smirk.

"Mongrel, this is enough," said Gilgamesh as countless of portals appeared around Aldebaran.

The weapons were shot while the butler just smiled a smile which Gilgamesh found disgusting. He turned away knowing the butler would die in a few seconds, and his death was unworthy of an audience. He took one step and heard an explosion, not thinking it weird that he didn't scream with the assumption his demise came so fast he had no time to feel pain. In the eyes of the golden Servant, this was a privilege he didn't deserve, but it couldn't be helped.

As he began to walk off, he failed to notice one of his treasures flying from the cloud of smoke created by his last attack until it cut his right cheek. The king stopped but didn't turn.

"Running away? We have just begun," Aldebaran said enthusiastically, grinning.

His smile faded the moment he felt anger emanating from the golden Servant, who slowly turned to face him.

"You not only dare lay a hand on my treasures, but you dare make me shed blood?" Hearing his voice, Aldebaran knew he was serious. "A thousand deaths are not enough to make you pay for what you have done!"

"You don't learn, do you?" Aldebaran sighed.

Before Gilgamesh could do anything, the butler disappeared. He began to look in all directions trying to find him. Eventually he looked up and saw Aldebaran in the air directly over him, and in less than a second he descended with his fist out and aimed at his face. Still, the rest of that second provided enough time for the King of Heroes to react, and the butler's attack was stopped by a pair of silver and golden swords. Something felt wrong. Even taking into account the force of the dive, the blow was too heavy.

"What?" exclaimed the king when the ground under him started cracking.

Aldebaran continued to put more strength into his fist, trying to break the two blades. In the end, he only managed to push Gilgamesh back a little. That alone was a great feat, as over many centuries there had been none who successfully pulled it off.

The reason the butler managed to do this was because of his ability. Gravity could be used in many ways such as reducing the gravity on himself in order to move faster and even enabling him to stand in the air or increase it, making his attacks greater and stronger.

"You know something, King of Heroes, you won't beat me if you continue to underestimate my power," he said as he began to take off his tailcoat. "And I need you to entertain me a bit."

"I see." The golden Servant didn't seem angry, which make the butler tense a little." I will definitely enjoy your screams as I cut you limb from limb and rip out your beating heart."

Aldebaran was surprised. He couldn't detect any trace of that past anger, as if the feelings of the Servant betrayed his words. Then he understood the reason for the lack of hate and rage. Gilgamesh had turned serious for the first time since the battle with his only friend. He had decided to destroy the being in front of him with everything he had, his concentration so great that in his mind there was no room for emotion. The only thing he sought was Aldebaran's permanent end.

"Let's continue, mongrel," he finished with a smile.

* * *

She had been in a lot of fights, none of which were easy, each of them demanding pain and sacrifice for her to emerge victorious, yet this was the second time she ever felt her own blade become so dull and heavy. Gawain's words weren't wrong. It made complete sense, as they were both Servants, their fate being to fight, but it was painful.

The pain didn't come from the fight himself, but from seeing the eyes of her knight, which looked frighteningly dead. With each clash of their swords, she remembered how the people of her kingdom used to compare him to the sun. The reason for that was because his eyes were always filled with warmth and life, but now that was just a memory.

The sister swords clashed once again. This time, Saber of Blue was pushed back.

"You are disappointing me, Arturia."

Gawain leapt at her with his blade raised and trained on her neck. Saber blocked it with her invisible sword, even then being sent flying toward a tree. The strength of the attack was such that on impact she coughed up blood.

"Saber!" Shirou shouted in concern as he ran toward her, just for Leo to stand in his way.

"Don't bother them," he said simply as he pulled on a pair of black gloves.

"Shut up! You forced him to fight her, didn't you!?"

Leo shook his head, surprising Shirou.

"Just like her, Gawain felt her presence nearby and decided to lure her in. Until just a moment ago, I didn't know she was his former king. All of this was his choice alone."

"His… choice…? Don't joke around!" Shirou yelled as he traced his twin blades. "I can feel he doesn't want to do this!"

He rushed at Leo and swung both his blades at high speed, but in Leo's eyes, Shirou seemed to move in slow motion. After all, his body had been modified until reaching its utmost limits, allowing him to survive in that horrible future. Even if his form resembled one, Leo was no longer fully human. He reached out his right hand and grabbed the blade coming at him. He inspected it for a second before breaking it.

Shirou was shocked. The blond had easily stopped his sword and snapped it in two like it was nothing. He didn't even have time to ask, "What?" In the next second, Leo's fist was already hurtling at him. He used his black sword to stop the punch, but it, like the white one, broke easily. But because the blade managed to absorb a great amount of the impact, Shirou only skidded back a couple of feet.

"Not bad." Leo smirked as he ran at the red-haired magus.

Saber wasn't doing any better. She stopped using Invisible Air, opting to parry the silver knight's attacks with Excalibur itself.

"Gawain, something is wrong with you," she said to her old friend, trying to understand the reason for his change.

In that very moment, all of them saw a large green tree surrounded by a purple and black mist rise up in the middle of the city.

"So Dan activated it already," Leo said as he stopped mid-dash.

"Gawain. What is that?" Saber asked.

"That, Arturia, is the Noble Phantasm of the Archer of my faction," he answered as he too paused and looked at the tree.

Truth be told, Gawain was an honorable man who liked to face his opponents head-on, but he was also a soldier. He knew how cruel a war could be and was willing to do whatever was necessary for his king to emerge victorious. That had been the path he followed all his life. He didn't have any aspirations, for he enjoyed just being there supporting his king. He believed the king to be perfect. A king could never be wrong. A king didn't need any emotions.

He rushed at Saber before she could speak again, and instead of using his sword, he kicked her in the stomach before grabbing her hair and flinging her to the other side of the park. By the time she got up, Gawain was already upon her. In less than a second he would cut her down. Then suddenly he stopped and jumped backward to avoid the eight arrows fired at him.

The silver knight turned to see a man clad in red with a young girl at his side.

"Emiya-kun! Saber!" Rin cried the moment she realized they were almost defeated.

Shirou looked over. "Tohsaka, do you know what that tree is doing there?!"

She shook her head. In the meantime, Archer reinforced his eyes and looked at the purple smoke that was slowly seeping from the tree.

"It's emitting poison," he said, clenching his fists. "Rin, we need to get rid of that. I don't know the range, but having a Servant capable of doing this is dangerous."

"But…" She was concerned about the other pair.

Shirou stood up. "Don't worry Tohsaka, leave this to us."

"Interesting. Then please come at me, Master of Saber," Leo taunted with a smile.

"I won't let you go!" Gawain roared as he ran at Archer.

Archer just smirked.

"Sorry, I learned to never stand in her way."

Gawain didn't pay attention to his words until a golden sword stopped his blade.

He looked at Arturia, and he realized her gaze had changed. All the weakness and doubt from before was gone. She seemed once again like the perfect king he used to serve. He was thrown back with ease.

"It seems that you have gone astray. Not only as your former king, but as your uncle, I think I need to fix that."

"It seems you are finally going to fight seriously, Arturia," the knight said, getting up.

Archer looked at her for a second before grabbing Rin and going after the tree.

* * *

In another part of the city, both Atosaki and Edward witnessed the tree's emergence. When they saw the purple smoke, neither one of them could shake the bad feeling coming from it. Atosaki drew with her index finger the letter C with two straight lines, activating then Kenaz rune, allowing her to strengthen her sight and look clearly at the tree. The moment she glimpsed the purple smoke up close, she felt an ominous aura of death.

"What is that?"

"Not sure, but we can't let it be there," Edward said as his eyes turned crimson. "Let's go, Atosaki-san."

She nodded. While they were so focused on the tree, they didn't notice that Pleiades was looking at them from afar. Behind her was a gladiator trapped by pillars of light with an expression full of anger, trying to break out.

Pleiades looked at him and smiled.

"Have fun, Berserker," she said as she disappeared, taking the pillar of lights with her.

Once free, the gladiator roared and jumped toward his target: the Oppressor. Before they could even take a step, Edward stopped and let Saber down on roof of the building.

"Atosaki-san, go ahead. We'll catch up to you later."

"Edward-san?" She didn't understand until she saw Lance tense up and Saber ready her sword.

"Black Seal, 30 % unleashed!"

The very moment his left arm turned into a bright red claw, a gladiator wearing silver armor appeared out of nowhere and with his sword, a gladius, attacked Saber, who barely managed to block the blow.

Edward jumped and created a gigantic spectral arm to punch the Servant in the face, but the Servant didn't move. Seeing this while in mid-air, he turned to Atosaki.

"Just go and destroy the tree! We'll meet you after beating this guy."

Atosaki didn't want to leave. The Servant seemed strong, but she also knew that the tree was dangerous, so she decided to believe in them.

"Please don't die!" she called as Lance picked her up and together they headed off.

Much to her surprise, Berserker didn't care and let them get away. It was as if he went after Edward specifically. But he had attacked Saber first, and then Atosaki realized that she was his real target.

Saber leapt back and landed next to her Master.

"How dare you to attack an emperor!"

The smile Berserker gave them made them shiver.

"Destroy the Oppressor," he stated.

At that phrase, Saber froze. She looked at him carefully and began to have an idea of his true identity.

"Why… from all the enemies of Rome… why did it have to be you?!" She tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword. "Do not dare call me that in front of my Praetor!"

"Saber!" He tried to stop her, but it was useless.

The red swordswoman jumped at him, her entire being full of rage. The gladiator didn't move. She swung her blade and it sank into his left shoulder. But his expression didn't change, that creepy smile remained unfazed. Saber tried to take out her sword but he had it lodged in his muscles. The next thing she saw was his fist.

She felt pain explode on the right side on her face. She felt herself crash into the ground. She expected another hit, but it never came. Instead, she heard Edward's voice.

"Crimson Inferno!"

Her head was still down and she couldn't see the massive arm and blade wrapped in crimson flames flying at Berserker. Still, the attack didn't do anything to the gladiator since he stopped it with his forearms. It wasn't the same for the roof. Because of the blow, it crumbled and the gladiator crashed into the streets, all the while keeping that same smile.

Edward knew that he would recover in a matter of seconds. He ran to Saber and made sure she was alright. He inspected her cheek, seeing that there was no blood; it was just a rough strike.

"You alright, Nero?" As they were alone, he called her by her real name.

She slowly stood up and looked at him.

"Yes, I am alright."

"Don't be too eager, it doesn't suit you," he said, walking past her to watch the gladiator stand up. "You fight in a graceful form. Going blind with rage isn't something you should do."

Saber looked at his back with eyes wide.

"Sorry… I…"

She felt a hand on her head.

"I already told you, I don't care about your reputation." Edward turned with a smile. "Nero is Nero, there is nothing else."

Before she could answer, a roar broke the moment and the gladiator jumped towards them. Edward created another spectral arm and used it to catapult Saber at him. The gladiator seemed eager to face her, but as a Berserker he didn't notice she had been thrown a little to the left. Before he could react, she cut his right side as she passed by.

Seeing his prey escaping, he turned in midair trying to follow her, not noticing the young man with a crimson arm wrapped in flames. He punched the gladiator on the back of his neck, and that very moment the flames began to wrap around the Servant, and he was engulfed by an explosion that resembled a large ball of fire.

Edward landed next to Saber.

"Blazing Nova," he said as he saw the Servant fall to the ground. "Any chance that was enough to beat him?"

"Really, Praetor?"

"I want this to be easy, so who is it?"

"I'm not sure, but I guess that he is Spartacus the Thracian, who made a revolution with the slaves."

"No wonder he hates you," Edward said in all seriousness as flames began to surround them.

The Servant stood and leered, keeping that horrible smile, ignoring the burnt skin peeling off as he began to move. Pain didn't seem to mean anything to him. He ran toward the pair.

* * *

Atosaki was a little closer to the tree but couldn't shake her worry. She looked up at Lance.

"Do you think they're going to be okay?"

Lance stopped for a second, as if searching for a way to answer her that would be both truthful and reassuring. The fact that he couldn't talk didn't help at all, so he just held her closer. To anyone else it wouldn't make any sense, but she knew him and understood the meaning behind his every action.

"Thanks, Lance. You're right."

* * *

At the same time, Breno continued his match with Kayneth. It might be expected for him to lose, as there were few people able to survive an attack with Volumen Hydrargyrum, but the young man had not only managed to dodge it, but even made Kayneth go on the defensive. It was a strange outcome in terms of pure magical talent. Breno was weaker by far, and his magic didn't seem able to overcome Volumen Hydrargyrum, but the fact remained that he was doing it.

There were two reasons for this, the first obviously that Kayneth had lost his cool, making his control over his Mystic Code sloppy and predictable. Still, the speed and strength of the Mystic Code made up for what he lacked, but then there was the second reason.

Breno's magic was different from Edward's. While the latter controlled his flames at will as if they were part of him, with no logical explanation behind this, the Da Roche family had developed a style that used magical barriers on the former's limbs to manipulate fire.

"Fervor mio sanguis!" Kayneth yelled, not understanding why he couldn't kill him.

Many tentacles came from the silver sphere and hurtled toward Breno, ready to rip him apart. Breno would normally use barriers and Bounded Fields around his limbs, but since his flames wouldn't hurt him, he could also surround himself with them. He wasn't a specialist, so his barriers didn't have enough strength to stop Kayneth's attacks but that was fine. That wasn't their purpose. The barriers were to slow down the tentacles, giving Breno the opportunity to dodge them using his flames as rockets to move faster.

Normally a genius like Kayneth would figure this out because of the delay of the attack, but he was so frustrated that he didn't care.

Breno dodged again and shot a torrent of flames at Kayneth, who blocked it with the sphere of mercury. As Breno continued to look at him, he couldn't help wondering if he had been the same in his world and if it got him killed, letting his emotions get the best of him, losing sight of his enemy and attacking like an idiot.

He dashed at the blond magus and when he put up his defenses, he punched with his arm wrapped in flames. To Kayneth that was an act of stupidity. Volumen Hydrargyrum had a great resistance to magic fire. No matter how much power Breno put in, it was useless, and in the next moment Kayneth would kill him.

But the attack went through and Kayneth fell back. He saw the hole in his shield and felt the pain of a burn on his chest.

"That's why I told you that you were weak. I only needed 500 °C to pass thought that sphere of mercury."

"Why you!" Kayneth yelled, unable to grasp the situation.

It was rather simple. Breno simply changed his flames. Instead of using magic fire, he used magic to create a chemical reaction between oxygen, carbon and hydrogen. Using the very air he created real flames, and then he only needed to adjust the temperature. Mercury would burn at 230 degrees Celsius. Even with all of Kayneth's modifications, it still maintained its physical characteristics, and that was what made it such a deadly weapon, though he only thought of it as protection against other Mystic Codes. That reinforcement made it able to withstand modern weaponry, but he never expected someone to attack its chemical composition.

Breno jumped back, dodging another attack, or so he thought. The tip of the metal whip had managed to cut him in the chest. Using his rage as fuel, Kayneth made it move faster to the point that the barriers couldn't even slow down the attacks.

"How dare you hurt me, trash! I shall make you pay!"

"I hope I wasn't as pathetic as him when I lost myself."

Suddenly a purple smoke began to fill the area, and the moment Breno breathed he began to feel sick and even coughed up some red specks.

The Servants fighting above them noticed almost instantly.

"Poison, such a cowardly act," the green spearman said.

"If a mere peon is trying to poison a king, he doesn't know his place," Rider said, stopping for a second before attacking Lancer of Zero once again with his Khopesh blade.

"This smoke is poisonous, so shouldn't we help our Masters?" the green spearman asked as he blocked his attack.

"Stupid peon, I don't have a master. That human is nothing but a slave at my service."

The two Servants clashed in the middle of the sky before each landed on the tops of two opposing buildings.

"Also, he is not so weak that he would die that easily," the Pharaoh declared with a smirk.

* * *

Kage arrived at the towering tree without yet being affected by the poison thanks to the gas mask he always carried with him. The mask couldn't fully protect him from the poison due to it being part of a Noble Phantasm, but it gave him more time. He still inhaled the poison but in lesser amounts, so its effects were delayed.

A man with black hair and a beard wearing dark French noble garments appeared at his side.

"He is close, Assassin."

The Servant took a couple of pistols from his belt.

"Yes, they are exactly next to us."

A green arrow came at him, broken by a tangible shadow which rose from the ground.

"I found the Servant."

"Eliminate target," Kage replied.

Assassin nodded before vanishing.

Archer of White was a few buildings away, surprised by the fact that Assassin managed to block his arrow, even more so when he saw him disappear. Still, he needed to move, but before he could, the sound of an old musket being fired rang out.

He moved, trying to dodge the screaming bullet, but it hit him in the right shoulder. He endured the pain and turned to shoot an arrow at the black-outfitted Servant, cutting the right side of his face.

"You missed," Assassin said.

"You think so? Archer smirked.

The Servant felt a strange pain coming from his cheek.

"Poison?" he asked, getting only a grin from the bowman as an answer.

In that moment the two disappeared. Even while being a standard Archer, his real identity was Robin Hood. This wouldn't be a direct confrontation, but a fight between snipers, so to speak.

Kage had begun to move the moment Assassin disappeared. All went according to his order, the elimination of target. Nothing else mattered. He wasn't driven by a need to save others, and even when he didn't wish the death of innocents, all he knew was that he saw an enemy threat and needed to get rid of it in order to survive. Saving the people of that area would be a bonus.

The fastest way would be to cross out the Master. He didn't care about how that girl from his faction didn't like killing, since simply put, it made things easier. He felt someone watching him, so he was most likely in the aim of the enemy Master. He stopped, needing to know their location, and there was no better way of finding out than letting the enemy take a shot at him. He acted like he was confused by looking around, believing Dan Blackmore would be in a nearby building, but when he heard the sound of a rifle coming from the tree, he was surprised.

But that wasn't all, the bullet was faster than any other he had seen or used before. It was a fact that he would die if he didn't do something fast.

"Time Alter." That said, the world around him seemed to stop, including the bullet hurtling at him. "Double Accel."

He only accelerated a couple of seconds forward, but it was enough to dodge the bullet and get to the trunk of the poisonous tree. He never expected the bullet to open a hole in the roof where he'd been standing. His expression changed for a second before turning blank again, and he started to climb.

* * *

Ginevra had turned her attention toward the other fights happening all over the city. After getting over her shock, she reassured herself that the King of Heroes wouldn't lose, so she didn't need to worry. She turned her attention to the others.

When she observed the battles of her faction, she found it useless to keep from smiling.

"These Masters are more than I expected," she said, a little excited. "Someone with the abilities of the Magus Killer, a girl using the lost art of runes, a young man wielding the flames of purgatory and another using barriers to control fire. I can't help but want to see what the other two can do."

She then turned to the fight between knights.

"Interesting, I never thought that such a large-scale war between magi could even be possible." A voice surprised her.

She turned.

"Kirsche, I though you said you were going to sleep." She said while offering her a cookie

"There are too many noisy worms outside." She said as she took it.

"It can't be helped, for now let's enjoy the show."

"Let's do that."

* * *

Alright another chapter done the fight began to continue its course the there are so many it really looks at a battle royal. Well I know that breaking volumen hydragyrum with chemistry is debatable but i still think it makes sense. Please review


	11. Chapter 10 The tree

I don't own any characters except my own OC. The other OCs appearing in this story are property of the following authors:

Deux Silences - Atosaki Kurokawa

Suchbass - Kage

Nomorenamesleft - Yagami Kousuke

Count Valerian - Kirsche Von Einzbern.

Topographic Ocean - Breno Da Roche

AzarielKayras - Leo Wells

I thank you for lending them to me. Now, to the story!

* * *

Chapter 10

The blue and silver swordsmen continued to fight each other. This time, the one in blue seemed to have gained the upper hand, but only by a narrow margin.

"Gawain, as a knight, how can you support a plan than involves the death of innocents?"

The knight gave her a puzzled look.

"Being a knight doesn't mean anything in times of war." He pointed a finger at her. "You should know that more than anyone."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember the invasion of the barbarians." His words made Saber eyes go wide. "We sacrificed villages so we could make them think we were afraid of facing them. That was your strategy!"

"Gawain… you don't understand." She couldn't believe his words.

"It worked! They believed it and didn't expect our surprise attack," he continued. "You did it all to protect our kingdom, and sometimes in order to do what's best for the majority, a king must sacrifice some people. I understood even when the others didn't. I knew that all your actions were for the sake of our people. That was why I never left your side. This is the same; in order to defeat the enemies of my king, we must make some sacrifices."

"I'm so sorry, Gawain. It seems they were right and I failed to lead you."

"What?"

Gawain didn't understand. She had been a great king, so she had no reason to apologize.

"Gawain, why do you think I was defeated in the battle of Camlann?"

"You were betrayed and I made a mistake when I didn't accept Lancelot's help. In other words, your subjects failed you."

Arturia shook her head in disappointment.

"No Gawain, the fall of our kingdom was my fault, because I failed them."

"Arturia, you were a perfect king in all aspects, so how can you say that?"

"Gawain, something like a perfect king doesn't exist."

Gawain tightened his grip on his sword and ran at Saber, unleashing upon her a barrage of attacks going in many directions, up, down, left, right, all at an incredible speed. Saber still blocked each of them and even counterattacked.

The two separated and each found they had been cut in the shoulder. They rushed at one another, upon passing by gashing their right sides. They ignored the pain and turned for their blades to clash, silver and gold lights trying to consume the other.

Their battle was so fierce that the pressure from this collision alone created a crater around them.

They stood there looking at each other, the silver swordsman driven by the need to fulfill his oath for his king and master while the blue one was driven by the need to make her old friend understand that perfection didn't exist and though searching for it was a good thing, forcing it on others was a mistake.

Finally Arturia managed to push him back. Both knights had used a lot of strength. After all, Gawain had been considered by many the strongest of the Knights of the Round Table. It was a good thing they were fighting at night, as she knew that under the light of the sun he was unbeatable.

On the other side of the battlefield, Leo had been dodging Shirou's flurry of attacks. He'd decided to switch from direct combat to shooting his traced Noble Phantasms at him.

To block them, Leo used a very simple method: instinct. Instantly he knew which of the swords was faster. He dodged most and blocked those remaining with his bare hands, all while enjoying the fight. He felt real interest in Shirou's magic since it was the first he'd seen up close, and it amazed him how it could create so many weapons in a matter of seconds.

"You really are strong!" he said happily as he grabbed one of the swords coming at him and used it to parry the others, closing the distance between them. "But it's not enough."

"I am the bone of my sword," Shirou answered.

Before Leo could touch him, many blades came from underground, slicing into Leo making him roll aside to avoid death.

"I stand corrected. Maybe it is enough."

"Why are you so happy?" Shirou asked, not really understanding his expression.

"Because, you have given me the opportunity to overcome another challenge in becoming a king."

In that moment, two pillars of light appeared in the park.

The two knights faced each other with their strongest weapons.

"Gawain, I will make you see reason!"

"Shut up!"

The two Masters stopped fighting in order to watch the clash between holy swords. This was the only way it could end. They were evenly matched in skill alone, and both knew the style of the other so well that the only way to end the fight was to pit the strongest attack against the strongest attack.

"Ex…"

"Excalibur…"

"...calibur!" Saber of Blue declared as she unleashed a golden beam against her former knight.

"...Galatine!" Gawain yelled, making a horizontal orange slash that erupted into a ball of fire.

* * *

Edward and Saber were continuing their fight against Berserker when they saw a pillar of golden light rise up on the horizon.

"Praetor, that light!"

"Yes, it seems she is here."

They jumped, dodging another one of Berserker's charges.

* * *

Rin and Archer continued their way to the tree when they felt the light shed by Excalibur behind them.

"Those idiots!" Rin exclaimed.

"Rin, we don't have time. Let's keep going," Archer said, not even bothering to turn.

* * *

From afar, Shirou Kotomine viewed the fight.

"The king of knights is a young girl… It seems this world is full of surprises."

Assassin appeared behind him.

"Don't underestimate her, Master."

"Never. To realize my dream, all of them will die."

* * *

The moment the two powers clashed, the outcome was decided. Even though Galatine was her sister sword, Excalibur wouldn't lose, being the strongest of the holy swords.

At least at present. Had the battle happened in daylight, under which the protection of the sun was stronger on Galatine, the outcome would be different. Gawain saw how the golden beam began to overcome his sphere of fire, and when it broke through he would be reduced to ashes.

In a normal fight that would be the outcome, but as the Masters and Servants were so focused on each other, none noticed Caster of Red watching the show.

"No! This story shall not end so soon!" He made a leather-bound tome appear in front of him and prepared to unleash his Noble Phantasm. "Non Sanz Droic!"

First Folio, the story he as William Shakespeare never finished writing, gave him the ability to modify the outcome of any phenomenon to a certain degree. For example, he could save Gawain from being killed by Saber's Excalibur, but he couldn't make Gawain win. But that was just one of its many uses. This time, he used it to make the clash end in a draw.

He wrote on the pages, and instead of consuming Gawain, Excalibur's golden beam consumed itself along with the sphere of fire.

The smoke created by the clash dissipated, and the pair of the Blue Faction couldn't understand how Gawain was still standing. With his work done, Caster of Red took a bow as if saying goodbye to an audience and disappeared.

Leo seemed unfazed and walked to Gawain.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Gawain knelt in front of him.

"Sorry for worrying you, my king."

"It's alright. Let's go, they are too weak to intervene."

Leo began to walk away and before following him, Gawain glared at Saber.

"Wait!" She tried to go after him but fell to her knees, exhausted after using Excalibur.

Shirou wasn't in any better condition. They didn't have a choice but to let them get away.

"Next time, Gawain," said Saber, "I will definitely make you realize your mistake."

Her Master looked at her. "Saber…"

"Shirou, my past self may have accepted his words, but I know I have changed, and I wish the same for my nephew."

Shirou smiled at her.

"Yeah, Saber. You will definitely save him from himself."

* * *

Kage continued to climb the tree. He really wondered how tall it could be, realizing how far away he was from the ground.

In that moment, he heard the sound of a rifle and jumped toward one of the tree branches, a Calico M960 taken from his coat's inner pocket. Once he dodged the bullet coming at him, he shot in the direction from which it came. He waited a few seconds and decided to keep climbing using the branches, under the impression that the enemy was at the top of the tree.

Dan luckily found himself alive. The leaves and branches of the tree had blocked a good portion of the bullets and even the remaining missed him by a few inches. Like Leo, he had suffered modifications to make him a better soldier, but instead of his entire body, he received enhanced eyesight and reflexes, the two abilities a sniper needed. Still, Kage had been right about his location, at the top of the tree, but instead of being on the end of a branch, he had set up a flat surface, giving him ground to shoot to his heart's content.

The fact that the young man in black coming after him was able to dodge his bullets and even shoot back made him respect his abilities. Dan hated all this. He had become a knight after he retired from life as a soldier, expecting to leave behind those days of being a man who would do anything to destroy his enemies. To face his enemies directly instead of hiding in the shadows was, unbeknownst to Dan, also his Servant's wish, even if he never spoke of it.

He kept changing his location and shot at Kage, who continued to dodge using the branches as he had before. It was just a matter of time before Kage reached the platform, but that was fine. Dan just needed to stall for time and let the poison do its job.

As he continue to think this, he realized the young man had disappeared from sight and turned exactly at the right time to see him appear behind him.

"I found you," Kage said simply.

Both pointed their weapons at each other and pulled the trigger. Both found they had run out of bullets. Before Kage could switch to the dual pistols he had in his belt, Dan ran at him with a rapier and thrust it out.

Kage barely dodged the blade, moving to the left, and saw it pass directly in front of him. Before the second strike, he slid down the knives hidden in his sleeves to block the attack. The fight between two Masters began.

* * *

Atosaki arrived at the base of the tree and, with her sight strengthened by Kenaz, saw two people fighting on its top, immediately recognizing one.

"Kage-san!"

"Who are you?!" A voice she recognized very well rang in her ears.

She turned to see Rin looking at her suspiciously, guard up, along with a man clad in red. Even though they seemed different, they couldn't be any more familiar.

"Rin! And… Shiro?!" She ran over and hugged them before they could react. "It's so good to see you two!"

The pair was taken by surprise by the gesture, and while Archer didn't mind, Rin couldn't control her embarrassment. She pushed her off while blushing.

"What are you doing?!" Then she turned to Atosaki's blue-haired Servant. "Is that… Lancer?!"

Atosaki remembered that this wasn't the Rin she knew, it wasn't Shiro, and that even when seeing them again made her feel better she couldn't delude herself.

"Ah, right. I'm Atosaki… Atosaki Kurokawa," she said with a smile. "Sorry about that. You just reminded me of someone I know."

"My name is Rin Tohsaka. I'm here to destroy that tree, so will you get in my way?"

"No, but don't worry. A friend is fighting up there with the enemy."

"How can…"

"She is right, Rin," said Archer.

Atosaki suddenly coughed up some red droplets, the poison beginning to affect her. Because of her healing abilities, the effect had been delayed.

"Alright, Atosaki, we'll do this later. Let's help your friend before we're all dead."

Atosaki just nodded and before they took a step, an ominous aura manifested behind them. Both Lance and Archer sensed a presence that made them shiver.

A black-armored swordswoman surrounded by a dark aura emerged with such a killing intent that they knew a fight was unavoidable. Atosaki identified her as the Saber of her world, but she seemed stronger this time, completely focused and lethal. The two Servants stood in front of their Masters as the Saber remained silent, making the group feel more serious.

"Rin, take that girl with you. We will take care of the Servant."

"Archer…"

"Lance!" Atosaki yelled, interrupting Rin.

He had dashed at the black swordswoman and thrust his spear at her heart. She blocked it, but it didn't matter. The strength behind the strike was enough to send the two of them into another building. Seeing this, Archer ran after them.

"Let's go!" Rin yelled, knowing there was no time to lose.

They were interrupted once again by a person they knew very well.

"Greetings, young ladies."

The moment Rin turned and saw the owner of that voice, her eyes widened in shock.

"Ki…Kirei?!"

"Rin Tohsaka, the daughter of the Master?" Kirei asked, not understanding how the girl he met a couple of years ago had grown up and stood before him as a Master herself.

The same thought came from Rin. She was seeing the young Kirei Kotomine, the one she had met in the last War, when she was just a child.

The first to get over the shock was Kirei. He took out his Black Keys and got ready to fight.

"Wait! We need to get rid of that smoke! If not, we will all die," Atosaki pleaded.

"I don't care. I can kill you two and then leave the area before that happens."

"You're the same as always, aren't you, you fake priest," said Rin, soon realizing that the protection of the jewel she had swallowed would fade in a few moments.

As Kirei ran at the two girls, a fist collided with his right cheek, taking him by surprise and sending him flying a couple of meters.

"Attacking a woman? Some people don't have any shame," Leo Wells said, entering the scene.

"Leo-san!" Atosaki cried happily. "Where is Kousuke-san?"

"Who knows," he said, throwing Kyrph's container at her. "Take this, that bastard Kage is fighting up top. We've got to get him off there before destroying the tree."

Rin didn't understand until Atosaki threw the gem down on the floor. Crimson flames erupted and from them came a white lion.

"Come on, Rin-san," Atosaki said as she patted Kyrph on the head and hopped on.

Rin sighed and went with her.

As the two girls began to fly to where Kage was fighting, Leo smirked and looked at the priest.

"You bring shame to the name of God, 'Father.'"

Kirei didn't say anything as he took the golden cross at his chest and kissed it with a smile. He drew out his Black Keys and took a posture Leo didn't know at all.

Kirei moved and in less than a second crossed the gap between the two, hitting Leo in the chest with enough strength to destroy his heart. The blow sent Leo skidding across the way. Kirei looked at him without a care, as he knew the boy should be dead. He walked over, wanting to see his face in his last moments.

That was a mistake. The moment he came close enough, Leo's legs wrapped around his and made him lose his balance for just a second, but that was all he needed. Leo rapidly stood up and punched the priest with everything he had. The priest tried to block it with his left forearm, but it was futile. The attack passed through his defenses and sent him flying.

"That hurt, you bastard!" Leo said as he coughed up some blood and breathed heavily.

Everything came with a price, in this case mana. To heal a cut or a broken bone was easy, but for a destroyed heart in a matter of seconds he needed to use more energy. He probably wouldn't be able to heal his heart that fast again, so he couldn't afford to receive a second fatal strike.

"So, a priest using Chinese kenpo. Just how bizarre can you be?"

Kirei just stood up, not answering Leo, wiping the blood coming from his mouth and spitting out a tooth. Leo smirked, though surprised. The last blow should have broken his arm, and he was still moving.

* * *

At the top of the tree, the two Masters continued their fight to the death. Kage was genuinely astonished. The old soldier moved so fast that no one would see him as that, and he could only shiver imagining him at his peak. They had been fighting only for a few minutes and he had many cuts all over his body. The old man was smart. His first swing was aimed at Kage's gas mask, and now, without it, he was at the mercy of the poison.

"You are strong, young man, but tell me, why do you fight?" Dan asked him.

"You look really calm for being in a death match."

"Because I know I will win, boy. I'm not so old to lose to some youngster."

Kage blocked another blow and kicked Dan in the gut, making him retreat a few steps.

"I fight for simple reasons: survival and stopping this damn war," he said, voice emotionless.

Dan didn't attack and just observed him.

"I can't believe magi used to be so simple."

"And I used to think soldiers were more than murderers."

"Don't talk about what you don't know. I seek to meet a person dear to me, someone I failed to protect, the only one who could bring peace to my soul."

"So that's why you're willing to kill people using poison? How noble!" he exclaimed.

At this stab, Dan ran at him, aiming to end his life. Kage couldn't deny the old man was fast, he could barely keep up. The poison had begun to affect him and Gaia sought retribution for accelerating. He could barely endure the pain he felt in addition to dodging and blocking Dan's lunges.

"I hate people who don't understand the real meaning of life," Dan stated blatantly as he sent another strike against Kage.

"I don't have a choice," he said, parrying Dan's last swipe. "Time Alter, Double Accel."

Kage disappeared from Dan's sight and moved behind him, pointing the knife in his left hand at back of the old man's head.

"And I hate people who use others as an excuse for their actions."

It was a shame he couldn't stop time, his magic only allowed him to move faster than everything else. Normally that would suffice to end any person's life, but in this case, against a soldier whose reflexes had been enhanced, it wasn't enough.

As the knife was about to pierce its target, Dan sidestepped. The attack still left him with a deep cut on the left side of his neck.

Kage moved to finish the old man, but the moment he walked forward, he felt a sharp pain coming from his left side and realized before falling to his knees that Dan had stabbed him with the rapier.

He was found in that state by Atosaki and Rin when they reached the top of the tree.

"Kage-san!" Atosaki yelled, worried to see him sitting in a pool of blood, and then looked at the old man lying on the floor. "W… what did you do?!"

Kage didn't answer and just tried to stand, but the wound was deep and she didn't seem willing to help him until he said something.

"He's not dead," he managed to tell her.

Atosaki placed her hands on Kage's side and healed him enough so he could move. When she turned to Dan, the old soldier was already standing, much to their surprise. Blood dripped from his wound and his green suit had turned crimson. He was breathing heavily and as he looked around, he realized he was at a disadvantage.

He smiled to himself and jumped from the tree, much to Atosaki and Rin's horror. When they went to see what happened to him, they found he had disappeared. Still, the tree remained, so they couldn't keep looking for him.

* * *

Breno was about to die, though not alone. At least Kayneth was at his limit, the poison affecting him too. But the poison was decreasing his time of reaction as well, so he wasn't able to keep dodging the attacks of Volumen Hydrargyrum. The best he could do was to make sure they wouldn't be fatal. His entire body was covered in blood. He could barely breathe, and he realized that he could withstand at best two more attacks, one if he wanted to counter attack.

Even intoxicated, Kayneth insisted on killing him, while anyone else would leave the area after wounding him and leave the poison to do the rest.

"Now you know your place."

Breno couldn't understand him very well, his vision was fading, but he wouldn't lose. He wouldn't because he had grown from his past defeats. He wouldn't lose again.

He shot a torrent of flames towards Kayneth, who in his arrogance didn't try to dodge, deciding to block it with his Mystic Code because he knew Breno needed to get closer to use stronger natural flames.

It was true, real fire wouldn't have much reach in that space full of poison, so he needed to use magic fire in order to fight. The attack was deflected, but in there lay another one of Kayneth's weakness. Volumen Hydrargyrum had an absolute defense, but only because it adapted to the type of attack. If a second, stronger attack came the moment it blocked the first, it was actually possible to break through.

Breno only had enough strength for one last shot, so he needed to make it count. He used flames to dash at Kayneth. After the first pillar of flames was deflected, he punched with everything he had and got through, breaking the sphere of mercury. He had to admit, seeing that face full of shock was priceless. He grabbed both of Kayneth's arms and set them alight. The heir of the Archibalds had lost his Command Seals.

Kayneth yelled in pain as he stepped back, seeing his flesh burn. Hearing his screams, Lancer of Zero moved to his side and took him to safety. Breno finally passed out.

Rider saw him collapse and decided to let Lancer get away. After all, without a Master, he would disappear. He looked at his Master and smirked.

"You did well. For a peon, that is," he said as he lifted him up and decided to leave the area. Even as a Servant, he was beginning to be affected by the poison.

* * *

On the other side of the city, Berserker of Red was standing in a very hideous state, with cuts and burns all over his body and his left arm barely attached.

"Why won't this guy die?"

It was hard to keep fighting him without destroying the nearby houses, and because of that, Edward and Saber couldn't go all out, and against a Berserker like this it only meant doom.

Their attacks, even though they seemed to do damage, weren't working. He continued to move as if nothing had happened, and after each strike his attacks seemed stronger, as if each wound only powered him up. The worst part was that all his attacks were directed at Saber. He ignored the Master, probably because in his mind the only goal was to kill the oppressor.

He ran at them like a mad dog. Edward tried to stop him with a spectral arm, but Berserker smashed through it and punched him in the side, making him crash into one of the house's walls.

"Praetor!"

She couldn't worry too much about him, since the next moment she had her crimson blade raised to stop the gladiator's fist. It was heavy, forcing her to use all her strength just to stop it. The surface beneath her feet cracked and she felt herself sink.

Her Master then came to her aid. A crimson chain was wrapped around Berserker's neck and brought him to a halt. Edward appeared behind him and grabbed his head, smashing it against the ground. But this only stopped him for a second. He immediately stood up and, taking advantage of Edward being on his back, jumped into the air and fell backward, slamming Edward down. He got up with a smile.

Saber looked at her Master lying there and anger filled her entirely.

"You bastard!" She raised her sword, wrapping it in flames, and drew a circle in front of her.

"Fax Caelis!" she yelled as she thrust her sword into Berserker's chest at amazing speed, not giving the gladiator any time to react.

She passed the gladiator, grabbed her Master and ran a few steps before the gladiator was engulfed in flames.

"I won't forgive anyone who hurts him."

"So you got him?" Edward asked weakly, looking at the pillar of fire behind them.

"I don't know."

A roar was heard, and they knew he wasn't dead.

"Then I don't have a choice," he said as he stood on his own. "Black Seal…"

Saber grabbed his hand with worry.

"Please don't, we don't need to use it yet."

Berserker came from the flames with his usual smile as if nothing had happened. Instead of looking at Saber, he looked at her Master.

"Why do you protect the Oppressor?"

"She is important to me!"

"The Oppressor is evil," he said, not hearing his answer. "The oppressor must die for the oppressed to be happy."

"She is evil?!" Flames began to surround him. "Don't talk as if you know anything about her! Black Seal 40% Unleashed!"

His hair turned crimson and the head of a red-furred dog appeared on his left shoulder.

"Come, I will send you back to Hell!"

Berserker just smiled and ran at them, only to be stopped by a golden lightning bolt that struck him with such power that he was knocked away.

"Raikōhō," said a voice they knew well.

The pair turned and saw Kousuke approaching along with Caster.

"It seemed you needed help," Kousuke greeted with a smile.

"What took you so long?" Saber complained.

"So rude! Goshujin-sama and I came to help such a useless Saber as you."

"What did you just say?"

The Masters didn't try to stop them.

"Thanks for coming," said Edward.

"Don't worry. Nice hair by the way."

"Well, it comes with the arm," he replied, showing his matching crimson claw.

A roar stopped all conversation and they turned to Berserker, who continued talking about killing the oppressor. Kousuke drew his sword and Edward created two crimson blades in his hands, and so the battle continued.

* * *

Note from Editor: Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The new Unlimited Blade Works series also aired today, making me even happier. ^^ If you haven't seen it already, please consider watching! It's absolutely amazing. Anyway, thanks for your viewership. o w o)/

The battles continue new begin and others end, well sorry for the gawain fans but you all know that he cant win at night against Saber and well I really need to Thank Deus Silences and the other authors who lend me their OC. So before i go and watch the new fate series Please review!


	12. Chapter 11 Gods and Humans

Chapter 11 Gods and Humans

Archer of Red couldn't believe what her eyes were seeing. The battle before her went beyond anything she had ever seen. At the beginning, she expected Aldebaran to defeat the King of Heroes, as Pleiades said that it should be easy taking advantage of him never fighting seriously.

But they didn't take into account the hate the golden Servant felt toward the Counter Guardians and the gods.

The two fighters slowly destroyed each other without mercy. Gilgamesh's golden armor was now nothing but scrap metal. He had fist-shaped imprints on his skin and blood dripping from his mouth. Normally he would be complaining about a mere mongrel pushing him so far, but not this time. This wasn't a fight between two men; it was a fight between a king and the world, and the world wouldn't give up that easily. This much struggle was expected.

On the other hand, the butler was smiling crazily. It had been ages since he had such an opportunity and so much fun. He really missed being an actor instead of just a spectator. He didn't care he had cuts all over his body, that his white shirt had turned crimson with his own blood. He wanted to congratulate the Servant and a small part of him wanted to stop now, as it would be a shame to kill a person who had given him so much fun, but he knew that the moment he did that, he would die.

Instead, he rushed at the golden Servant. Twelve weapons came at him in the blink of an eye. He rolled to one side, dodging the first two and then using his power to reduce his gravity, eluded another three coming at him. Flying into the middle of the sky, he brought his hand down at another four of the weapons coming at him, and a strange, invisible force buried them into the roof.

"Gravitas!" he said as he landed and continued on.

Just three remaining, one being a spear and the other two golden swords. They were too fast, and the best he could do was to avoid a fatal blow. One of the blades cut him in the shoulder, the spear buried into his right side and the last one cut his leg. He could withstand the pain and prepared to strike his opponent, but when he was almost there he found he couldn't move. Chains surrounded his entire body.

"Heavenly Chains, Enkidu," the King of Heroes declared.

The moment the butler was captured by the chains, the outcome was decided. He was an agent of the world, therefore recognized as a being with divinity. In other words, he wouldn't be able to escape the chains no matter what. After all, it was a chain that was designed to hold gods. But Aldebaran was very calm, even smiling, a smile that the King of Heroes wanted to rip off his face.

Many portals appeared behind the golden Servant, prepared to impale Aldebaran.

"Die mongrel," he said simply, as a horde of Noble Phantasms came from the portals.

"Gravity Bind!" Aldebaran yelled out.

Gilgamesh suddenly fell, slammed into the roof of the building. It began to break, and before sinking into its surface, he glared at the butler who had freed himself, since the moment he was slammed down by gravity, he'd lost focus and control of the chains.

"You bastard!"

"Rest well in this grave I created for you, King of Heroes."

Aldebaran raised his hands and lowered them, sealing the Servant's fate. The gravity over Gilgamesh became stronger. The roof broke, and so did the floors in the lower levels. Aldebaran floated with his ability and saw how the building collapsed on the King of Heroes. He would be never be able to leave, buried meters underground and held there. The King of Heroes had been defeated.

* * *

On the other side of the city, the clash of steel could be heard. Kousuke, Saber and Edward continued their fight against Berserker of Red while Caster decided to support.

Berserker had changed his way of fighting. He didn't focus just on Saber and wanted to kill them all. This was because he had recognized the other three as supporters of the Oppressor. Even against four opponents, they could not gain the upper hand. No matter how they hit him, the Servant didn't die.

"Saber, use it!" Edward said with a heavy sigh.

"But Praetor! To use my Noble Phantasm in such…"

She didn't get to finish because Spartacus rushed at them.

Her Master shot out a barrage of flames in order to stop him, but it only delayed him by a few seconds. Using that chance, Kousuke swung his blade, cutting the Servant's eyes and leaving him momentarily blind. Before the giant could smack him, blinded but guided by his instincts, he pointed two fingers.

"Rikujou Koro!" he said as six thin but wide rays of light slammed into Berserker's mid-section, preventing him from moving. "Now, Caster!"

Caster nodded and made a sword appear over her head. It swung in a circular motion, creating hundreds of similar blades along the way, all pointed at Berserker.

"Benihiko!" she yelled as they flew and buried themselves deep into Berserker's body.

Still the Servant continued to struggle, trying to break from Kousuke's binds. Caster looked at Saber.

"Hey useless Saber, I don't know if you have a way to beat him, but if you don't do somethung soon, our Masters are going to die!" she snapped.

Saber wanted to yell back at her, but she knew Caster was right. Even when it seemed they didn't get along, they were very similar. They had found people who could really understand them, a special someone who would do everything they could to protect them. They were two Servants who had fallen for their Masters.

Saber thrust her sword into the ground and raised her arms.

"Behold my glory.

"Hear my thunderous applause.

"Sit down and praise.

"My Golden Theater! Kingdom of Heaven and Hell.

"My heaven, reconstructed! This is where the limelight shines!

"Aestus Domus Aurea!"

She swung her blade three times before all present were engulfed by deep crimson light. Edward couldn't help but smile. It had been a while since he had seen her in all her glory.

Kousuke and Caster didn't know how to react. The moment they opened their eyes, they found themselves standing inside a golden theater with a crimson carpet and curtains. Berserker was on the other side of the theater and in the middle was Saber, as if before an audience. Her Master was behind her, ready to go against the giant.

He turned to them with a smirk.

"No more holding back," he said as a huge spectral arm manifested at his side and smashed into Berserker.

Kousuke's eyes turned bright red, with three black mitsudomoe encircling the pupils. Those were the mystic eyes of his family, Mystic Eyes of Empowerment. With them his abilities increased tenfold.

Berserker pushed Edward's arm back, but Kousuke was already in front of him and about to cut him down.

"Yamagi-Ryu Kenjutsu…" He slashed him a dozen times with such precision that the afterimage of the sword swing made it look as if he had drawn a white lotus. "…Byakuren."

He saw Berserker's fist coming at him, but in that moment Saber appeared behind the giant along with her Master, their blades wrapped in flames. He understood that he needed to create some distance.

"Crimson Inferno!"

"Fax Caelis!"

He heard Edward and Saber call their attacks as he jumped back. A large explosion of flames engulfed the gladiator.

Caster saw all this and understood how Saber's Noble Phantasm worked. This wasn't a Reality Marble. It was similar, but she couldn't create one since she wasn't a magus. This was a space created by her big ego, an absolute imperial zone in which she could do just about anything. Caster needed to admit that here, Saber was at least ten times stronger, as this was a place where all her wishes could come true, and she couldn't help but wonder what kind of person her Master was to stand beside someone like her as an equal.

The flames died the moment Saber and her Master landed next to Caster, and she saw the gladiator for the first time fall to his knees and stop. She looked at the others, who all seemed tired. She needed to finish this once and for all. She closed her eyes and a second tail, and then a third appeared behind her.

"Yoshitsune Senbonzakura Kageyoshi," she said, opening her eyes, and thousands of cherry blossom petals appeared around the theater.

The petals began to surround her and she seemed serious.

"Gokei."

The petals then began to surround the gladiator. He struggled, punching them and cutting them with his gladius, but nothing happened.

Eventually he was trapped in a sphere that slowly closed around him, but then Caster felt some resistance. It was weird and seemed little like gladiator they had been fighting. A pillar of light erupted from the sphere, shocking everyone.

From it came a beautiful woman with long blonde hair wearing golden Norse Valkyrie armor, dragging the bloody body of the Thracian.

"Sorry for the intermission, but I have this Servant under my care and I can't let you kill him."

"What do you mean? Who are you, witch?!" Saber yelled.

"I am the Counter Guardian Pleiades, the Supervisor of the Red Faction."

In the following moment, the four of them felt a pressure coming from the woman, a power they didn't expect the Counter Guardians to have.

"You see, during a fight, the Master of this one died. Apparently he drained too much mana," she lied.

"That doesn't change anything," Kousuke said, trying to understand how she had broken Caster's Senbonzakura.

"I know," she said happily. "I just need an excuse to kill you so Antares-chan won't get mad."

She disappeared and reappeared in front of Edward.

"So please die quickly," she said before kicking him squarely in the face.

It all happened so fast that no one could react. She moved as fast as light. By the time Saber began to speak, her Master had already crashed into one of the theater walls.

"Praetor!" She tried to cut the woman in front of her, but she vanished.

This time she showed up at Kousuke's side and raised her leg to kick him. He realized he was being attacked only at the moment he felt her foot connect with his stomach.

"Goshujin-sama," yelled a worried Caster.

Pleiades disappeared once again and appeared between the two Servants. Before they could attack her, she pointed her two index fingers at them and shot yellow beams of energy, blowing them away.

She just smiled and returned to Berserker. She couldn't let Shirou lose him so early since he was a very valuable asset. She began to wonder how to leave this place. It should disappear, as she defeated the ones using it.

"…Wait." She heard a voice behind her.

Pleiades turned and saw Kousuke using his katana to stand, along with Edward and their Servants. She just shook her head and sighed.

"I guess I will need to use more power." She began to glow. "Final Elysium!"

Everything was consumed by light.

* * *

Near the tree, both Rin and Atosaki were startled when they saw a beam of energy shoot up in the middle of the city. Rin felt a shiver. She didn't know of any Servant beside Saber who could create such a thing. On the other hand, Atosaki got a bad feeling, one she couldn't understand until she remembered that it came from the same place where she'd left Edward and Saber against Berserker.

"Edward-san," she whispered, not wanting anyone else to die.

Kirei and Leo continued to fight each other. The priest was really impressed that a young man could fight on par with him. Even when Leo didn't have a distinct style, his moves were unpredictable. He could barely avoid some of the attacks he threw. He still couldn't feel his arm from the last blow.

Kirei lunged at him again and punched him with his bad arm, as he knew Leo would use the chance to counterattack and it would give him a good opportunity. However, that never came to be.

Leo grabbed his arm and dislocated it. Kirei ignored the pain and kicked him in the stomach and then head-butted his forehead.

The two separated. Kirei didn't understand why he had done something like that.

"Now you can't use that arm," Leo said with a smile as blood dripped down his face.

Kirei was ready to go at him again when the voice of his Servant, Assassin, rang through his head.

"Kirei-sama, we have retrieved Lancer's Master and found his opponent. Please return, Lancer's Master is in critical condition."

Kirei sighed and popped his arm back into place, surprising Leo the way he could do it without feeling any pain, and then began to walk away.

"Wait, this isn't over, you fake priest!" Leo yelled at him.

Kirei looked at him for a second before jumping from the building and disappearing on the night. Leo was about to follow when Atosaki's voice made him turn. He saw the stream of light and his eyes widened.

The girls landed near him with Kage, who was in pretty bad shape.

"There, we got your friend!" said Rin. "Now how are we going to destroy that tree without our Servants? We need a Servant to destroy a Noble Phantasm."

She made a good point.

Leo didn't say anything at first. He gestured, and the next moment his Archer appeared.

"So, your brawl finished already?"

"Shut it, Archer."

"Alright, Leo, what do you need? You told me not to do anything."

"You really are a relaxed person."

"I like to enjoy any free time."

Leo wanted to smack his Servant sometimes. Who would have thought that the famed Odysseus could be like that, but he wasn't so bad.

"Just help us destroy that tree."

Archer simply nodded and took a small pouch from his belt, one of his deadliest weapons.

"You know that after this time, I can only use three more right?"

"Can't be helped. Even I can't withstand such potent poison."

Archer sighed and opened the pouch, at the same moment reciting its name.

"Aeolus, Bag of the Four Winds."

From it came a gigantic tornado which ripped the tree to shreds. At the same time it dispersed the poison.

Atosaki was about to go to the lower floors of the building they were on when she was stopped by Kage.

"Don't bother, this building was empty."

Shock filled the faces of those present. Atosaki's heart filled with relief.

"That old man, for such a tough fighter, was too soft."

The tree was gone and the fight of the night was almost over, but Atosaki still worried. Even when she didn't know why, there were good reasons for it.

* * *

Kirsche couldn't believe what she was seeing. Not only had the King of Heroes been defeated, but another one of the Counter Guardians had directly attacked, destroying Saber's Noble Phantasm and a couple of buildings in the area.

"Those idiots…! I told them to run if they encountered a Counter Guardian," Kirsche said, angry.

Ginevra was silent, calmly confident that the King of Heroes would rebound. As for the others, if they died, then that was too bad. Not that she truly worried; Counter Guardians were an overrated lot, otherwise the Aylesbury Valesti would have been destroyed even before it began. Still, their abilities were interesting, if nothing else.

Aldebaran: the gravity.

Pleiades: the light and, unknown to most, electromagnetism.

She hadn't met Antares, but Ruler told her to be cautious of him, leaving her wondering about what abilities the man might have. Perhaps, she thought, she ought to set up a Dead Apostle Territorial Field just in case.

And then Ginevra saw the smoke created by Pleiades' attack clear. She raised her eyebrows when she saw the state of the two Masters. Edward was lying on the ground, his arm turned back to normal. Kousuke had half of his kimono destroyed. They weren't terribly hurt, but the Servants seemed to be in a very bad situation. They were positioned in front of their Masters, protecting them. The two girls were covered in blood and burns from the last attack, and they remained standing for a couple of seconds before falling down.

Kirsche prepared to leave. She didn't want to lose two Masters and Servants in her faction so soon.

"Wait!" Ginevra stopped her.

Kirsche turned and looked at the water mirror and couldn't believe it.

Pleiades looked around. She had created a little destruction, but she didn't care. She made a few pillars of light around Berserker of Red, and the giant disappeared.

Edward opened his eyes and what he saw horrified him. Saber was lying sprawled out in a pool of blood.

"Saber!" he yelled, ignoring his own pain.

"Caster!" Kousuke also called.

Neither of them received a response from the Servants, and they were afraid they would eventually disappear.

Edward surrounded his hand with fire and put it on Saber's back. Eventually her wounds began to heal. As flames could be considered part of life, his also possessed some regenerative abilities, which explained why he was able to endure so much pain. He couldn't completely heal Saber, so he just closed her wounds and let her own regeneration take care of the rest. Edward stood up and did the same with Caster.

He looked at Kousuke and helped him stand. There was only one thought on their minds: make Pleiades pay.

The Valkyrie turned, surprised when she found the two Masters standing.

"Oh? You two seem tough. It's a shame to kill you."

Edward changed his arm into its claw form and Kousuke pointed his blade at her.

"Come, dog of Alaya!" the two said in unison.

She rushed at them with a smile on her face and just like inside that theater she hit them at the speed of light. They couldn't react at all.

Pleiades continued to play with them. Their desperate attacks couldn't reach her, but she didn't understand how they could keep getting up. Not matter how many times she knocked them down, they still stood against her.

"Stupid humans! Know your place!" she snapped.

She shot a beam at each of them. Edward created a shield of fire and Kousuke used his swords to block it. That wasn't enough, and they were consumed by light.

The two fell to the floor.

"Why are you fighting us?" Edward asked.

"For fun," she said with a smile. "You see, you humans are nothing but trash. The world gives you all this freedom, but you only bring destruction to it. You killed this world slowly, but surely it was just a matter of time before it fought back. So I'm going to take out the pests, just like you kill flies."

Neither of the two Masters could understand her reasoning and tried to stand again, but it was futile. On her side, Pleiades thought of an excuse so Antares wouldn't get mad and kill her. She needed to make it look like they had attacked her and she didn't have any other choice but to fight back.

She needed more destruction. She pointed a finger at one of the houses and smiled. The two Masters realized her intentions as they watched her fingertip start to glow.

"St… stop!" they yelled.

She didn't stop. The beam was fired and the house was destroyed along with its inhabitants. After that one, after another, she continued to shoot.

"Stop it! You're killing innocents!" Kousuke screamed.

She finally stopped for a moment and looked at them with a smile.

"I said I don't care. You humans are just trash."

* * *

Lance and Archer couldn't believe that, even being two on one, they couldn't beat the black swordswoman.

The roof was completely destroyed, and the two Servants had been pushed to the edge. Lance could finish her with Gáe Bolg, but she didn't even give him an opening. The moment he tried to use his Noble Phantasm, she would cut him down.

Archer recognized her as another version of Arturia, just like the spearman at his side was another of the Lancer he knew, but this darkened, alternate form was much stronger by far.

The two rushed at her from different directions and attacked her at the same time. She used her black blade to block Lance's spear, recognizing it as a threat, but didn't think the same of Archer and the projectiles he shot at her.

The knight dodged them perfectly and closed the distance between her and Archer, about to slice him when a crimson spear swung at her face. She ducked and kicked Lance away without even looking at him.

The attack had only delayed her, but that delay was all Archer needed.

"I am the bone of my sword," he recited, and a rain of blades came pouring down.

She couldn't dodge them, and they made a direct hit. The two Servants stood next to each other, breathing heavily, getting ready for the moment she stood up. She did, with cuts all over her armor, and seemed fine overall.

She was about to continue her attack when a pillar of flames was seen behind them.

"What is that?" Archer asked, unable to believe his eyes.

* * *

Aldebaran stood proudly over the grave of the King of Heroes. He really wished to see his face after such humiliation, but it couldn't be helped.

Suddenly, the chains that had earlier confined him came from the rubble and pierced his stomach. The butler fell to his knees and saw the rubble shift, and the King of Heroes emerged from it with his very own chain wrapped around him.

"H… How?!" Aldebaran asked, not believing the image in front of him.

It was quite simple. Gilgamesh had anchored one side of the chain to his vault. Since his vault was infinite, so no matter how many times his gravity increased, it could still pull him.

"Thanks, Enkidu," he said in a whisper before looking at the butler. "Figure that out for yourself, mongrel!"

"Why? Why, when you have such power, did you choose humanity over the gods?!"

Gilgamesh laughed as he never had before.

"Aldebaran, you think humans are weak?" he asked, looking at him with a smile. "You, Gaia, and the gods believe that because you are immortal, you are superior, but you couldn't be any farther from the truth. You all fear humans because we have such short lives. All the moments we live are unique and precious. We have the potential to overcome any hardship. Humans are foolish, more so than any other kind, they are self-destructive and hate more than anyone. But they also love more than anyone and they don't need gods. The gods from my time have already died and disappeared, but humanity continues."

Enkidu wrapped itself around the butler at the very moment a pillar of flames appeared in the distance. Gilgamesh recognize those powers as powers coming from his time. He felt the strength of the mighty hound that protected hell, Cerberus, and the rage of the invincible demon, the Oni.

"Look at this, mongrel. This is the power of humans."

* * *

Pleiades felt a shiver run down her spine. She turned and saw the two Masters she had defeated standing once again.

"You are strong, Pleiades," Kousuke said, throwing his swords to one side.

"But then why are you using that power to take from humans?" Edward asked, his eyes turning crimson.

Pleiades felt fear for the first time in a very long while.

"You shouldn't exist. Pests like you shouldn't challenge the world!"

"Pests like us?" Edward asked.

"We shouldn't exist?" Kousuke continued.

"Don't joke around!" the two said.

The two Masters looked back at their unconscious Servants, who would get mad if they knew about what was about to happen. They next looked at the destruction, at the dead, and how the person in front of them needed to pay.

"Let's do this. Avenger, Black Seal…"

"Release the self-imposed restriction…"

"50% release…"

"2nd level 50%..."

"Dirge of Cerberus!"

"Crimson Red Vermillion!"

A scarlet mist began to surround Kousuke as his eyes and hair turned a slight shade of red and steam began to rise from his body. Eventually the mist condensed and turned into a crimson aura that encompassed his entire being.

On the other hand, black and red flames surrounded Edward. A crimson circle appeared on his left hand, a black one on his right. Both his arms turned into claws, each with the head of a hound on the shoulder in a corresponding color, as his hair turned blood-red.

Ginevra laughed as she and Kirsche watched the tide of the battle turn, gleefully applauding the words spoken by the two fighters.

"Don't look down on humans!"

* * *

Another chapter done, the fight end in the next chapter an i should end this season in 3 or 4 more chapters- I know gilgamesh is a little oc but he really preferes human before gods.


	13. Chapter 12 Pleaiades

I don't own any characters except my own OC. The other OCs appearing in this story are property of the following authors:

Deux Silences - Atosaki Kurokawa

Suchbass - Kage

Nomorenamesleft - Yagami Kousuke

Count Valerian - Kirsche Von Einzbern.

Topographic Ocean - Breno Da Roche

AzarielKayras - Leo Wells

I thank you for lending them to me. Now, to the story!

* * *

Chapter 12

Dan couldn't see anything. What he remembered last was jumping from the tree and falling to the ground. He didn't want to admit it, but he had lost. The young man dealt a dangerous blow on him, and even when he'd done the same, he knew he didn't have much time left.

He opened his eyes and found himself floating through the sky. Not at a leisurely pace, he was moving at great speed, too tired to even try to figure out how. He was about to close his eyes once again when he landed near a building. It took him a few moments, but he recognized it as the mansion of his faction.

He raised his head and found a smiling Leonardo along with his brother Julius.

"Good to know both of you survived," Leo said.

Dan looked back and found his Archer standing there too with a couple of bullet holes in his clothes.

"Archer…"

"You worried, boss? Don't be. I must admit, that Assassin was a tough bastard. First time I found a person I couldn't kill."

Archer tried to sound fine, but everyone could see he was barely able to stand. Besides the first shot in his shoulder, he had another two in his stomach. It was a miracle that he had gotten away and managed to hang on this long. Truth be told, he was really surprised by the Assassin's accuracy. Even his shots weren't as precise. It was like no matter, what he wouldn't miss.

Leo helped Dan stand and took him into the mansion.

"Also, don't worry about the tree. After all, this was just a test to see how it worked, and we got valuable information. Good job Sir Blackmore."

* * *

Aldebaran looked at Gilgamesh, not believing his words. He'd always seen humans as a mere source of amusement, and no matter what he refused to recognize them as anything more than what he believed them to be his entire life.

The chains lifted him into the sky and beneath him hundreds of golden portals were opened. He saw Gilgamesh smile.

"I told I would enjoy this, mongrel."

He began to shoot his treasures at him. The first four cut his limbs, one by one, as he expected. The next ones went through him. A continued barrage of Noble Phantasms pierced his form again and again.

Aldebaran felt his body being destroyed, how slowly it turned into a piece of dead meat. Still, his last thoughts lay somewhere else. He began to understand why Situla showed so much interest in humans. Real interest, he was the only one among them who hadn't lost faith in humanity. As he closed his eyes, he started wondering.

Were humans really that strong, he thought. It was a shame he wouldn't find out for himself.

Gilgamesh continued to fire until nothing remained of the Counter Guardian. Once Aldebaran's power faded and he was able to stand on his own, Gilgamesh looked at the coat of the butler that remained in the rubble and placed some rocks over it, as if forming a grave. Even as a person he despised, Aldebaran had given him a good battle, so this was a sign of honor towards an enemy worthy of his respect.

He turned and went on watching the explosions in the sky. He didn't know who they made them and he didn't care, as he could feel they wouldn't lose. A predictable fight was boring, so Gilgamesh decided to return to base, disappearing in a golden flash.

* * *

Ginevra smiled as she watched the battle gradually unfold. Those two Masters had surpassed her expectations. But she thought it was fitting, considering their Servants' identities: a hellhound to protect the emperor and a demon for the goddess.

Kirsche, on the other hand, while relieved that they weren't going to lose two Masters, glared at Edward's right arm and couldn't take his words out of her head.

"Avenger… Angra Mainyu," she said in a whisper as she remembered the pain of her old body, ravaged and broken by All the World's Evil after her soul had returned from its trip to Akasha. "Hellhound, just what are you?"

She kept glaring at him. He would need to give her some answers.

In that moment, her Berserker appeared behind her. She just sighed, considering why he had shown up.

"Some pests are outside, I'll deal with them," she said.

The pair walked towards the front door of the house.

"Have fun," Ginevra said, not paying much attention, focused on the show.

* * *

The two Masters looked at the Valkyrie, who continued to smile even though she felt wary of them. Kousuke dashed at her and she shot a stream of light at him. She never expected him to counter with energy of his own. A scarlet beam that negated hers came from his fist. True, she was holding back, but for him to block her attack was more or less a surprise.

Her surprise stopped her from noticing Edward coming up from the back. He threw an uppercut at her with his crimson claw, creating a path of flames as it curved. She managed to block it, but the strength behind the blow sent her reeling skyward. Edward created platforms made from fire for Kousuke to use to follow her up and continue their fight.

Pleiades couldn't believe she was fighting humans anymore. Either way, she wouldn't accept it. No matter what, she wouldn't accept she was fighting on equal ground with humans.

Hellhound appeared behind her and slashed with his crimson arm. When she tried to block it with her own, he ripped right through the armor and left deep cuts in it, all while pushing her away. She tried to escape using her high speed, but realized she was stuck over a large void.

"Negation zone, Belphegor," she heard Edward say.

Kousuke stepped over the black space and shot a wave of pure heat at her. She retaliated with her own energy beam, creating an explosion. Using its smoke, she tried to run, but then found the two fighters on her back once again. They didn't have such power a few moments ago. She cursed Zelretch, never expecting to encounter humans like that.

Another burst of flames engulfed her, but this time she managed to reach the ground.

"You two aren't human!" she cried as she examined her burning right arm.

The two Masters landed in front of her, both with serious expressions.

"We know we're humans!" Kousuke said.

"We just go beyond the usual limits. Just like you, but we keep our self-respect," Edward continued with a smirk.

Pleiades was beginning to lose her cool. She had been pushed back too far by these creatures she considered insects.

"Enough! Come, my mighty weapon, Trishula!"

A golden trident appeared in her left hand and she looked at the two with an expression full of hate. The Masters didn't flinch, ready as ever.

Once again she moved at the speed of light and cut them with her trident and kicked them toward the rubble. But just like before, they stood immediately and continued to attack her. This only made her angrier. She was stronger than them. Even in those forms, the only thing they could do was put up a fight, but it didn't seem they would give up.

"Gungnir!" she said as her trident glowed, throwing it at them.

Edward put his hands out in front of him and make a gigantic, blazing shield.

"Crimson Aegis!"

The shield managed to stop the trident, but Edward could feel the muscles in his arms being ripped apart. It was good that he could restore them, but it hurt like hell. As he continued to block it, Kousuke ran to his side and slammed his fist against the trident's prongs, sending it flying into the sky. Pleiades, shocked, jumped up to retrieve her weapon.

They followed her, but this time she was ready. She dashed at them, grabbing Kousuke by the skull and throwing him into the wreckage before thrusting her trident into his stomach and shooting a beam toward Edward which cleanly blew off his left arm.

She saw them fall while crying out in pain and began to reassure herself that she wouldn't lose. Then the next moment the auras of the two Masters rose again. Steam came from Kousuke's wound as it cauterized itself. Flames spurted from what remained of Edward's arm, and it regenerated.

"Forgot to tell you," he said. "I am made of flames."

* * *

Lance barely dodged the path of the black sword aiming for his neck. He leaned back, a few strands of fringe being hacked off in the process, and jumped away. Saber of Zero didn't seem fazed by anything at all, making the two Servants wonder how this could be possible for her. A monster—that was all they could believe she was.

In Archer's eyes, it didn't make any sense. They'd made a few direct hits, but that didn't slow her down in the slightest. She broke through the barrage of swords he sent at her as if they were nothing. He was also wondered what those explosions in the sky were, feeling something eerily familiar.

Then he remembered the other knights that were at a level similar to Antares. Recalling that flash of light, it came together for him. Pleiades, she was a cunning woman he never get along with. He could never understand how she could feel so peaceful whenever they saw hell. He remembered how Situla cried seeing the destruction, the hate Kaus felt towards humans, even Antares seemed angry, but she was always with a smile.

His mind returned to the fight as he traced the sword Caliburn to stop Saber's slash. The moment the two blades clashed, he swore he sensed some emotion from behind her visor, but it only lasted a second. In the next, Lance's spear came from behind.

She moved her head in time, but it still cut her cheek. After pushing Archer back, she turned and parried Gáe Bolg, getting close enough to grab Lance's face and smash him into the ground.

Archer tried to use the opportunity to attack, but he was met with a black whirlwind of concentrated prana. The Servant in red was sent flying. Just as Saber was about to cut into him, an armored, blue-furred werewolf rose up behind her and slammed her down by the head. Seeing this, Archer jumped over them. After tracing a bow, he notched Caladbolg in it and turned it into an arrow. He looked at Lance, who understood what he needed to do. The now half-man, half-wolf Servant leapt back, barely missing the projectile fired by Archer.

Saber wasn't so lucky. The moment the arrow made impact, she was consumed by flames. The floor beneath her collapsed and the two Servants waited for a second on the edge of the building. They didn't need to fight anymore, since the tree was destroyed and Saber was down for now. Most of all, Archer was worried about those explosions and the identity of those able to fight on par with Pleiades.

"Lance!" called a voice the spearman recognized. The werewolf turned and saw his Master riding on a white lion along with Rin and Kage.

"Well, I see you two have a party here," Leo said with a smile as he suddenly dropped down between the two Servants.

That very moment, Assassin appeared with his body full of cuts.

"Report," Kage managed to say.

"My apologies, Master, he managed to escape. Still, I wounded him."

Kage seemed to think on this for a second before nodding.

"Archer, do you know what those explosions are?" Rin asked, and then froze.

Saber stood from the flames, her body a little burned and the visor over her pale yellow eyes gone.

"Lily…?" Leo said in a whisper, seeing another girl with the face of the Servant he had in his world.

Rin felt troubled as well, recognizing her as a darkened Arturia. She knew her true power, and she couldn't help but shiver when thinking of having her as an enemy.

The swordswoman was about to continue her assault when a chariot pulled by bulls appeared in the sky with Waver Velvet and his Rider driving it.

"Saber, go back. The fight is over for the night."

The swordswoman looked at her allies for a second, like she was considering if she should obey or not. In the end, she chose the former and got on to the chariot. Lance noticed a small smile directed at him. Clearly she wanted a rematch.

Atosaki jumped from Kyrph and landed on Lance's furred back. After petting him a bit, she murmured something in his ear, and he nodded.

"Leo-san, Kage-san, we should go after Edward-san."

"Why? I think Hellhound can take care of himself."

"Those explosions… I think Edward-san is fighting there."

"Not the only one," added Rin. "A samurai is with him. Saw him on my way here."

"Yagami-san…" she whispered as another blast went off in the distance. "Let's go, Lance."

At her words, the blue werewolf jumped from rooftop to rooftop. After the first one, Atosaki turned.

"See you later, Rin-san!" she exclaimed, waving her hand.

"Hey wait!" Leo as he hopped atop Kyrph along with Kage and followed her, Assassin and his own Archer turned back to spirit form, leaving Rin and Emiya on the destroyed roof.

* * *

Saber and Caster slowly came to, and the moment they did, they looked around for their Masters. They didn't find them. When Caster saw Kousuke's sword lying near her, she got a bad feeling. They stood up as they heard a bang in the sky. They didn't want to know what it was about or where it came from. They had an idea of what had happened, but they didn't want to accept it.

Eventually they looked up and saw with horror how their Masters fought against Pleiades. They heard the crack of her trident against their fists. The three continued to fight each other, none of them giving an inch. Edward continued to shoot flames at her, following them with great speed to attack her with his claws. She blocked with her trident, but then Kousuke punched her, sending her flying, though it didn't seem to inflict much damage. She just kept going at them as if nothing had happened.

Saber didn't want to believe it. Dirge of Cerberus, it was the power he had obtained during the War in his world. She didn't mind his new appearance, she didn't mind that he could fight on his own without her protection, but there was something she hated. She could see it, how with every minute that passed his body was breaking, his muscles being reduced to shreds, his bones turning into dust. That was the price for a human to pay, entering a forbidden realm. That wasn't all, though. His wounds might have healed, but she couldn't help but be afraid. In her eyes he looked like a flame, and she feared that flame would get snuffed out. The mighty emperor was afraid of losing him.

Caster's thoughts were almost the same. Crimson Red Vermillion, the curse he had inherited from his clan. Part of his blood was the blood of an oni. The first time she had seen him in that state was during a fight against Berserker in their world. That form took his reason, turning him into a berserker himself. That explained why he abandoned his sword. In that form he didn't need it, but being like that was slowly tearing him apart. His body was still human, still mortal, and all that heat and power destroyed him from the inside out. There was a good reason to hate that form. She was afraid that, instead of dying, he wouldn't be the same, that he would stop being himself and become an irretrievable monster.

The three collided again. Flames and their temperatures tried to destroy light unsuccessfully. Pleiades looked at them with the knowledge their situation hadn't changed much. Even when they were able to hurt her, they couldn't beat her. It was just a matter of time until she figured out a way to defeat them. If she had left then, things might have been better, but then she let her pride get the better of her.

"Come on, humans! You got me for a second, but you aren't any different from those pathetic people." She pointed at the destroyed houses.

The two Masters lost control and said words that made Pleiades curse herself for her bluff and made both Saber and Caster cry out in concern.

"75% Release!"

"3rd Level 75%!"

They didn't hear the pleas of their Servants.

"Stop!"

Edward created a spectral arm and threw Kousuke at her. It happened so fast, faster than the speed of sound, even. Pleiades darted to one side, but he connected with her shoulder, not only breaking her armor but her bones. Edward appeared at her side. She directed an energy beam at him, taking off half his body. She seemed satisfied, but her joy died when she saw him smile and turn his body into flames.

"For moving at the speed of light, you're too slow." He got behind her, both hands holding blades wrapped with black and red flames. "Crimson Damnation!"

The two fires combined and engulfed Pleiades, who screamed in pain, a scream they heard for the first time since the battle began.

The Valkyrie fell to the ground. Edward continued to levitate with his flames and Kousuke stood at his side. At the third level, he had lost most of his logic. He didn't recognize the person at his side, and the only reason he didn't consider him an enemy was that he was too busy concentrating all his strength on destroying Pleiades.

Pleiades stood and glared at them, realizing, angrily, they were looking down on her. They were breathing heavily, unsure how long would they be able to keep those forms.

"You feel it now?! The pain of all the people you killed!" Edward said.

"How dare you!" Her trident began to glow. "I will kill you! GUNGNIR!"

She hurled the trident at them and it seemed as if it became a shooting star. This was it, a final attack against her.

Kousuke concentrated his energy around his arms and shot a scarlet beam as immense as Heracles which clashed with the trident. Edward created two gigantic spectral arms holding a sword that resembled the one his Servant used while himself holding his two blades.

He swung the two weapons in his hands first, and the moment the two intersected, he swung the giant one, making a third slash.

"Crimson Trinity Purgatory!" he shouted as the powers of the two sides met once more.

* * *

Rider was a few blocks from the mansion where he stayed. He thought that carrying Breno was a hassle and even considered summoning his chariot, but decided against it since a mere peon didn't deserve to ride on it.

As he continued to walk, he noticed several shadow figures beginning to surround him, at least ten, but probably more.

"Assassin…" he whispered. Normally he wouldn't have a problem; mere assassins wouldn't be able to harm a Pharaoh like him.

But his Master was unconscious over his shoulder, not only making him an easy target for the class that killed Masters as a specialty, but also slowing his Servant down, needing protection.

"Useless peon," he said as five shadows jumped at him.

But the shadows didn't manage to even get close as the next moment they were all reduced to ashes by lightning. The others tried to escape, but a giant with blond hair wielding a hammer blocked their path.

"Cowardly worms, you dare to disturb my night?" Kirsche demanded while appearing from a portal. "No mercy, Berserker."

The giant roared and swung his hammer, the mighty Thor smashing the Assassins in front of him so fast they couldn't make a sound. Against him, their numbers meant nothing, and as some others began to flee, he raised his hammer and threw it.

Wrapped in lighting, it searched for its target and destroyed the leader of the Assassins. In the end, none of the thirty Assassins survived, all eliminated in an instant against the wrath of Kirsche's Berserker.

"Good job Berserker, now let's go back."

The giant nodded and flew back to the mansion. Rider couldn't believe the power that girl possessed, being able to command such a Servant with ease. As Kirsche began to walk away, the light of crashing powers flashed in the sky, and after it died down she wondered about it. She couldn't help but feel curious, being a magus after all. She wanted to know how both Edward and Kousuke's powers worked. Then, in the middle of her thoughts, a column of fire erupted, bigger that any she had seen before and she could swear she saw the silhouettes of both an Oni and a Cerberus in there.

* * *

The clash ended in a draw, but that was the worst outcome for the Valkyrie, since she'd lost weapon. Even if it was for a second, in that interval of time the two Masters rushed at her, as if they had predicted this would happen the moment their powers rejected each other. They were already in front of her, catching her by surprise. She tried to move, but noticed, too late, she was over that black space which trapped her like before. Both Masters raised their fists and struck her. She acted on reflex, even knowing that was the worst possible choice at the moment; she tried to stop all that power with her bare hands.

If it were power alone, she might have been able to hold out, but those were fists containing a lot of hatred and anger against her because of her acts. She could feel how they slowly pushed back and brought her death closer.

"Mon… monsters!" she exclaimed as she couldn't stop their attacks.

"Just burn!" they said in unison.

A pillar of scorching flames engulfed the Valkyrie, who shrieked in pain like never before.

* * *

Ginevra saw this, barely able to contain her excitement. She never expected these Masters to bring her such a spectacle. But more than that, she was happy they had managed to beat the World, even if the Counter Guardian lost only because she underestimated them. Had she killed them swiftly and mercilessly, it wouldn't have gotten to this. Still, a win was a win.

"Hellhound and Yagami, you two have become Masters worthy of my interest," she said. After all, it was weird to find people with such resolve and levels of idiocy on par with her sister's lover.

* * *

The flames died and as the Masters returned to their normal appearance, they saw Pleiades lying on the floor.

Edward's right arm went back to normal and his hair back to black. With Kousuke, the crimson aura around him began to dissipate.

They fell to their knees and coughed blood, far beyond exhausted. Pleiades couldn't believe she had been reduced to such a pitiful state, unable to move. It was just a matter of time, but good thing she had a final skill for a situation like this.

"Bi…Bifrost," she barely managed to say as she disappeared in a flash of iridescent light.

The two Servants ran to their Masters who looked about to fade away.

"Praetor!"

"Goshujin-sama!"

They had pushed themselves too far. They not only dueled with a Servant earlier but also endured Pleiades' attacks until they'd almost reached the edge. But they won, they survived and they defeated her, but their faces didn't show any happiness.

"Edward, what's wrong?"

"Kousuke, you won, be happier."

"I'm sorry, Nero, but…"

"Tamamo, this can't be considered a victory."

The rest of the mist around Kousuke dissolved, and his eyes and hair returned to normal. Edward's left arm changed back into a black one, with red lines coursing through it. The other Master-Servant pair was surprised. Caster noted that those red lines were slowly fading.

"I'm mad, Praetor," Saber said as she pulled him close to her chest.

"You don't seem so mad…" He tried to joke but decided against it. "Sorry."

She hugged him tightly.

"Stupid Praetor, you promised."

Caster was doing the same, hugging her Master, who was too exhausted to fight back.

"You need to be more careful, Kousuke."

"Yeah…"

"After all, you promised to spend your entire life with me," she said with a forced grin.

Kousuke could see through her façade. She usually said and did things like that when she was really worried about something. He really hated when he made her sad, even if it wasn't on purpose.

"Caster, what do you mean by that?" Saber asked.

"What? Obviously, Master is my dear husband," she replied.

Saber's eyes widened, making Caster laugh.

"Praetor! We can't let that fox beat us! How come you haven't asked me to marry you?"

Edward looked at Kousuke as if asking, "Is it true?"

With only his gaze he answered, "Don't ask."

"Saber… can't we talk about this later?"

Saber was about to answer back when she saw Kyrph coming toward them along with a blue werewolf that shifted into the Lance she knew.

"I must admit, Hellhound," said Leo when they landed, "you need to hold back a little. We only have one city."

He teased a bit, but after looking at them, he realized it was something they didn't want to talk about.

"Saber, help me stand."

"Praetor…"

"Edward-san, you need to rest," Atosaki said.

"Sorry, not much time left," he replied, leaving her confused.

The three Masters noted his strange left arm. They had seen it transform before, but something seemed off, though they didn't say anything about it.

He created a couple of ghost fires to search about the rubble for anyone still alive. After a couple of tense minutes he noticed two presences.

"Atosaki, Leo, there are survivors over there," he said pointing to a mound of bricks which used to be a house.

Leo moved fast and along with Lance moved the debris, finding a pair of children under the dead body of what seemed to be their mother. They pulled the kids out and decided to take them along with them.

Then, before the last line on his arm disappeared, Edward began to burn the entire place. He got the feeling the others would ask questions, so he decided to speak.

"There aren't any official people to take care of the dead bodies. The Counter Guardians would probably clean this up, but after what happened here, I don't trust them. I won't let them do as they please. I'd rather set the pyre alight and let them have some peace."

Atosaki felt so sad for all the people who died that she couldn't stop her tears. Leo took his silver cross in hand and recited a short prayer. Kage just looked at the hell his teammates had raised, but still thought it was better than letting some unnatural force take care of it.

This didn't seem like a victory at all. The enemy had been defeated, but at the cost of many lives, innocent ones at that. As they left to return to their so-called home, the second night came to a close.

Masters remaining: 37

Servants remaining: 41

Counter Guardians Remaining : 4

* * *

Editor: I reviewed this amazing chapter while listening to the soundtrack of Fate/Zero. It was epic. Hope you liked it as much as I did! After watching the second episode of Unlimited Blade Works today... I realized I enjoyed seeing Archer and Lancer fight against Saber even more. x3 The Fate hype is going so strong right now-let's celebrate every moment of it!

Ok this end the second night arc and the next one should be the end of this part. I read the review about some masters being too OP but their power comes with a price and its not like they come out unscathched. Well for the last Arc I still listening to suggestions for any match ups, feel free to ask for any in a Review or PM. Well please Review


	14. Chapter 13 Fade to Black

I don't own any characters except my own OC. The other OCs appearing in this story are property of the following authors:

Deux Silences - Atosaki Kurokawa

Suchbass - Kage

Nomorenamesleft - Yagami Kousuke

Count Valerian - Kirsche Von Einzbern.

Topographic Ocean - Breno Da Roche

AzarielKayras - Leo Wells

I thank you for lending them to me. Now, to the story!

* * *

Chapter 13 Fade to Black

He had never expected to see such a scene in front of him ever again. Even though the scale was smaller, it didn't matter. After the sixth faction left the scene, Shirou and Saber arrived to it, and the former could barely withstand all the bad memories which flooded back after witnessing that hell.

It really resembled that day ten years ago, buildings and people being consumed by flames, flames that, as he fell to his knees, began to die away. They had finished their work, reducing everything in the area to ashes.

Shirou felt heartbroken. He wanted to avoid something like this happening and yet it occurred right in front of him. As a hero of justice he couldn't help but believe he had failed.

Since then, three days had passed. He was in the kitchen—his faction didn't have anyone to take care of the housework. Even when Antares offered to put someone in charge of it like with the other factions, Shirou declined. He did it in order to avoid having innocent people in his house that could be taken as hostages, just like what had happened with Taiga in the battle against Caster. So he, along with Sakura and, surprisingly, Caster, had begun to take care of the chores.

"Shirou…"

He turned to see a worried Saber.

She had realized that he was badly bothered by that scene three days ago and didn't want him to do anything too reckless.

"Don't worry, Saber, I won't do anything stupid. I can't change the past," he said as he looked at the ceiling. "But I will stop the person who did that. Someone like him can't be allowed to run around freely."

Saber nodded at his words, agreeing that whoever did it needed to pay for their actions, but both she and Shirou were wrong about something. They assumed that the one who had set the place on fire was also responsible for the deaths.

The Hero of Justice and the Hellhound were now destined to clash with each other no matter what.

* * *

Three knights were in a white room, each of them seated on a black chair. Between Situla and Kaus there were two empty chairs, one belonging to Aldebaran, who had died, and the other to Pleiades, who had been wounded to a great degree and decided to not attend the meeting for recovery.

"I can't believe that two of us have been attacked and we're just here talking crap!"

Antares spoke. "Kaus, I told you to not raise your voice. Aldebaran broke our oath when he engaged himself against the King of Heroes and so did Pleiades the moment she attacked the participants."

At this, Kaus stood and summoned his scythe and swung it at Antares. He stopped it with his bare hand, without looking at him.

"Don't fuck with me Antares, are you going to let those humans make fun of us?!"

"I mourn Aldebaran's death, but we have made an oath, we won't interfere in the war," he said as he tightened the grip on the scythe and lifted it along with Kaus, throwing both against one of the walls. "Your thoughts, Situla?"

"I agree that the death of Aldebaran was a very unfortunate event, and that we can't break our oath. The fact that mere humans were able to overcome Pleiades is also something that intrigues me."

Kaus stood and glared at Situla with eyes full of hate. He was about to yell at him when Antares spoke once again.

"Kaus, calm down. I don't mean that we won't get revenge. But to fulfill our oath, we need to keep supervising the factions. Be patient. Eventually the factions will disappear and then we can do as we please."

Situla grinned at his words.

"You found someone you want to fight, Antares?"

"Yes. Actually, there are many candidates. It's been a while since I have gotten serious."

"Still, there is the matter of the King of Heroes. We can't just let him have his way."

"I will give him a warning," Antares concluded as he disappeared in a torrent of flames.

Kaus looked at this and made his scythe disappear.

"I can't believe that guy."

"I don't get why this thing about Aldebaran bothers you so much, Kaus. We are all Counter Guardians, but the relationship between us is nothing more than acquaintances. Well, maybe it's different towards Antares, since he's the leader."

"I don't care about his death, I just can't stand they said humans didn't need the gods," he said, looking at the tanned man. "We have seen this cycle many times over the centuries. Humanity doesn't change. No matter how many times those who disturbed peace and order were defeated, nothing changed!"

"Kaus…"

"Tell me, Situla! Do we have any meaning besides being servants of the world?!" Kaus could tell Situla was speechless. "We don't! Humanity will never change, and if it comes down to me I'd rather destroy it myself than see everything repeat again!"

He disappeared into a black portal, leaving Situla sitting alone.

"Kaus, humanity is changing. It took them a while, but they are beginning to. Otherwise, those humans who fought Pleiades wouldn't have stood up again and again, no matter how many times they were defeated."

* * *

In the castle of the Faction of Zero, Kiritsugu couldn't help but curse Kayneth. His foolishness had caused him to lose both his arms and his Command Seals with them. He didn't know how long Lancer would be able to sustain himself. Because of his stupid pride as a knight, he wouldn't attack innocents and eat their souls. He had remained still for the last three days, that was the reason he was barely able to keep existing, but eventually he would fade away.

As a solution, Tokiomi inspected the lines of the city in order to find another source of mana for Lancer, to at least buy time.

Kirei had been trying to heal Kayneth's arms but it was futile. They had been burned to the muscle. The priest was actually rather enjoying the face full of anguish and despair of the proud magus. He had been the first to fall and moreover to an opponent he had considered inferior.

Kiritsugu continued to check the city. There hadn't been any movement for the last few days and it was starting to look suspicious. He could expect that from the faction of that guy who fought Kayneth, as according to his familiars he wasn't the only one wounded. In that night, they had three Masters with severe wounds, two others with minor.

The Master who summoned that tree had also suffered defeat, so maybe their faction was waiting for him to recover so they could use it again.

That left three factions who had decided against moving for the last three days.

"Just what are they doing?" he wondered aloud.

Of course, the Magus Killer couldn't know that both Archer and Saber of Blue had used too much power in their last fights, and another one could mean death, so they stopped all action for the moment.

But he was right, both the Red and Black factions had been the ones with the least damage, but still they didn't make a move.

For the Red Faction, the reason was that Shirou Kotomine was waiting for Assassin's Noble Phantasm to be completed. She had told him three days, but the priest told her to take her time, so she decided to spend five days on the construction.

But the reason of the Black faction lay somewhere else.

* * *

Darnic walked to the lower levels of his castle with Lancer at his side. He didn't like going down there, but the Caster of his faction had taken a liking to that place, where he could work to his heart's content. Now that he thought about it, there had been a strange phenomenon which occurred around that Servant. His Master, Roche Frain Yggdmillennia, a child with messy orange hair who usually wore a dressy white shirt with black shorts, had been with them in that original room. But the moment they were transported to the mansion, he found the boy was missing. He ordered Caules to search for him, and after thirty minutes he was found in the basement.

Later that night, after his Lancer defeated his other self, he went to the basement, wondering how the kid had disappeared like that in a flash.

When he got there, he found him working with a man wearing a featureless golden mask and a blue-and-black striped full body suit. He was an intelligent man, so he could deduce the man wearing the golden mask was Roche's Servant, but what he found shocking was the number of golems that were there.

It was a good thing the castle was big enough. He had begun to put them around the perimeters as protection. The last time he asked Caster of Black about their numbers, he was told there were around a thousand.

That fact itself was the phenomenon. According to Roche, they had been working for two months, but he and the others had just arrived there.

The only explanation was that the moment they disappeared from that room, they were transported to the same place, but at a different time. Still, how something like that could be achieved was beyond him.

Darnic opened the door of the basement and found Caster working on new designs for his golems.

"Good evening, Caster," he said politely.

Lancer had told him to treat all the Servants with respect, especially Caster and Saber, the latter being the strongest Servant they had and the former a great resource, as the golems provided them with an incredible army.

Darnic couldn't deny his words. After looking at the golems, he concluded that it would take the members of his family one year to create a single one, while Caster could make them in a couple of hours.

"It's good to see you, Lord Darnic and Lancer," he said, standing up. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Lancer of Black stepped in with a grin.

"Caster, I think it's time to release our army," he said, putting an arm over his shoulder. "The enemy is weak and they don't know we know their locations."

That was true. His familiars had been watching the Masters during their fights and followed them home when they were over. They had their defenses, but none were prepared for a large-scale assault in the middle of the day.

They wouldn't expect it, and as each of the bases were rather isolated from other houses and buildings, he didn't have to worry about collateral damage.

"They will be ready in a few hours. How many should I send to each base?" the magician wondered.

"A hundred to each base."

"As you order." Caster turned to his young Master. "Alright my student, we have little time. Let's get to work."

"Alright, master," Roche said with excitement.

* * *

Atosaki walked into the kitchen and saw both Edward and Kousuke talking at the kitchen table. She hadn't seen them in days and couldn't be happier to have them back.

"You two, you're alright!" she exclaimed while hugging the two of them.

"Atosaki-san…." Edward began.

"We… can't breathe." Kousuke continued.

She immediately let them go and her smile faded the moment she glimpsed their state in full. Kousuke had bandages all over his body. Edward, on the hand, had only his left arm heavily dressed.

"Can you move it now, Edward-san?" she asked.

After the last line disappeared, his arm had been virtually paralyzed. She and Leo were surprised, but he reassured them it was just a side effect of his power.

"Yep, that's the only reason Saber let me leave the room."

"I understand the feeling," said Kousuke. "Caster didn't want me to move 'til all my wounds were healed."

"Whipped," they heard Leo say as he entered the room.

"You just say that because you don't have a female Servant," Kousuke answered back.

"I had one back in my world." He then looked at Edward. "She resembled yours, but she was more conservative."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means what I said."

"Want to fight? Even without the use of an arm, I can take you." he said with a smile.

"Come at me bro," Leo replied, grinning.

They stared each other down for a while before laughing.

"Then you know how hard it is."

"Yep, Lily was sometimes a pain."

* * *

In another room of the house, the two female Servants found themselves sitting with each other. No matter what they did, no matter how many times their Masters told them it was alright, they couldn't forget the events of that night.

They could feel the sadness of their Masters. They knew them too well, and the fact that they couldn't help and the two were forced to use those powers made it even worse. They only felt like they had failed them.

At that moment, Odysseus appeared with a carefree grin.

"Two lovely ladies, alone and with sad faces." He looked at them and saw they weren't listening. "Only the worst man could do something like that."

"Shut up!" the two girls yelled in unison.

At their words, the hero's smile faded and he put his hands on their heads.

"Weep," he said, solemn. "Reflect on your mistakes and grow. Failure is part of life. I myself have failed to protect many people I found precious. But those two remain at your side. Become stronger, Servant of the spell, Servant of the blade. If not, the only thing waiting for you is despair."

Odysseus' words were right. Their Masters were weaker at the moment. They needed them more than ever, and they didn't have the luxury of having doubts. They had to protect them.

The hero smiled and disappeared. He wasn't the strongest of heroes, and he knew he had told the two girls something they already knew. But he had seen the dead many times and he understood failure more than anyone else. He remembered all his friends who followed him only to die at the hands of the monsters at sea.

He was remembered as the hero who developed the scheme to finally win the Trojan War. But how many of his generals, his friends, died before he could pull it off? People sometimes forgot the sacrifices made after learning the final result. All the glory didn't mean anything to him. He just wanted to fulfill his promise to the king and return to his family. He regretted that he couldn't have managed to think of a way for him and the others to win without losing so much.

* * *

Gilgamesh felt a presence he recognized very well. He materialized in the living room and found a crimson knight standing there looking at some paintings on the wall.

"Another dog dares to show himself in front of me?!" He glowered at Antares, who didn't seem to care.

"King of Heroes, I just came to inform you that Aldebaran was at fault. He wasn't allowed to fight with you and should have departed before things escalated," he said in monotone.

"Running and dying are the only thing you dogs are capable of doing," he said as he prepared to unleash Gate of Babylon on him. "Your presence offends me, mongrel"

He was about to shoot when he realized Antares was no longer standing in front of him.

"You really are an arrogant king."

Gilgamesh heard his voice behind him and his eyes went round in surprise.

Antares put a hand on his shoulder.

"I wasn't finished talking. You are also at fault. But I can't fight with you, so can we leave it until the end of the war? Then I shall accept your challenge."

The only answer he received was a golden sword to the face. He dodged it with ease but did not let go of him.

"I really hate when I need to do this."

He grabbed Gilgamesh by the neck and smashed him into the wall of the other side of the room. Gilgamesh looked at Antares' eyes, crimson eyes devoid of any emotion. He could only see a killing machine.

"Listen, King of Heroes, you are free to come and try to kill us, but wait until the end of the war before you do. If you try anything funny again, I will deal with you swiftly and mercilessly. This is your only warning."

He jumped back, dodging the many weapons coming at him.

"Not bad, no wonder Aldebaran was defeated."

"You bastard! You dare to lay a hand on the King!"

He shot more weapons, but as they got close to making impact, they suddenly disappeared. Rather, they turned to dust. Gilgamesh couldn't hide his surprise when a scorpion stinger appeared at the knight's side.

"Well, I gave you a warning. See you later, Gil-san," Antares said as he disappeared.

"Damn mongrel!" Gilgamesh said as he slammed a fist into the floor.

There was only one thought in the mind of the king: get revenge for the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of Antares.

* * *

In the afternoon at the base of the sixth faction, Leo was looking for Archer when he saw Atosaki leaving the house.

"Hey!" he called to her.

She stopped and turned to see him.

"You going out?" he asked.

"Yep, with Lance," she said happily.

In that moment, he noticed the blue-haired man wearing an unbuttoned, stoplight-colored Hawaiian shirt, a white V-neck shirt underneath and black leather pants. Instead of his visor, he wore bandages over his eyes. To Leo it seemed weird, but at least it was less conspicuous than that black, intricately carved eyeshade.

"Have fun on your date," he said as he went to take a nap in his room.

He didn't seem to notice Atosaki blushing furiously. Then something occurred to him.

"What about the kids?"

"I left them with Edward-san. He said I needed a break," she said as Lance took her hand and the pair left the mansion.

The two children they rescued that night had been living in the house, Atosaki taking care of them along with the maids. The boy named Alex was beginning to open up to them, at least to Atosaki, maybe because of her cheerful disposition, but the girl, Clare, seeming to be younger than him, refused to let anyone in. Atosaki didn't want to leave them alone, but she believed that Edward could look after them for a couple of hours.

"See you later, Leo-san."

* * *

Caules couldn't believe what he was doing. Both Rider and Berserker were walking in front of him in civilian clothes. He really didn't know how the paladin had managed to make her change her outfit, but he thought it would be better to not think about it. For some reason the paladin had taken a liking to him. While being in bed, he came to visit Caules every day. Even Berserker was beginning to accept him. It was not hard to get along with him, but for some reason Berserker had decided to remain at his side at all times.

He had to admit that during the time he couldn't leave the bed, the two had become closer. She never left his side and without realizing it, he had begun to tell her everything about him. Still, he didn't understand why whenever he mentioned his sister a scowl formed on her face.

It wasn't surprising to him that his sister didn't come to visit. He knew that the others didn't like her associating with him, so he only thought it couldn't be helped.

He remembered that, before leaving, she had been waiting for him outside his room.

"Hi Caules," she said with a weak smile.

"Good afternoon, sis." He was happy to see her after so many days.

But the moment he said those words he saw her face fall.

"Caules, you can't call me your sister anymore," she said, lowering her head.

His eyes widened.

"W…Why?" He didn't understand. He knew there was a lot of pressure on her, but he never expected it to come down to this.

"I will become the next head of the family. I have to cut my ties with my real relatives," she said.

This was all a lie. Fiore didn't need to do anything like that, but she felt she did. She had decided to choose her legs over her brother, so she pushed him away. Perhaps then he could search for a wish on his own. Perhaps he would despise her and make it easy to choose her legs over him.

She expected yells or even a slap from him, but nothing came. She looked at him and she felt her heart break when she saw all the pain she had caused him. She wanted to take back everything she just said, but it was too late.

"Understood, Lady Fiore," he said as he began to walk away.

Fiore's eyes widened. His words contained neither hatred nor anger, only sadness. It made sense—even after all that, he couldn't bring himself to hate her.

Berserker had watched the scene and wanted to break Fiore's neck when her Master called her.

"Berserker, let's go," he said with no emotion, and she followed him.

Fiore was left speechless. This had been her choice. It wasn't supposed to hurt so much, she'd done this so everything could be easier. Yet that was the first time hearing her name caused pain like that.

After that, they met with Rider of Black and he offered to show them the city. His mind returned to the present when he received a good thump on his back from the paladin.

"Don't think too much about anything," he said, grinning. "Cheer up! You're here with two lovely ladies."

"But you're a guy."

"Doesn't matter, to the others I look like a girl. Someone I met before made that perfectly clear."

Caules wondered who that person could be, but decided to relax for a while.

* * *

Edward and Saber were going to the room where the two children were sleeping when they found Kirsche standing in their way.

"Hi Kirsche." he greeted. "I never expected you would want to look after the kids."

"Please, Hellhound. I would never do something like that."

"Alright, then why are you here?"

"I want answers, Hellhound," she said in all seriousness.

"No way out of this, right?" He really hoped she would drop the subject.

But after looking at her eyes, he knew that it wasn't a choice.

"Why do you have that arm? Why did you mention Avenger?"

"This arm… is the answer to a foolish dream. I wished to regain what I had lost, but that was impossible. What had been lost can't be regained, only replaced."

Kirsche understood his words and couldn't help but agree. After all, she hadn't really regained what the Matou had taken from her. The Einzbern had helped her, but in reality she knew she had changed.

Edward unwound the bandages and showed her his arm. While he used his glove to conceal its appearance, in reality his arm was completely black, like a piece of charcoal with red lines running over and through it.

She realized how his arm worked after looking closer; she was a fully-qualified magus of the House of Einzbern in her own right after all.

"A fragment of the Grail…" She hissed in recognition of something Zouken had tried to put in her long ago.

Saber looked at her Master, understanding it was something he really didn't like to talk about.

"About Avenger, as he had corrupted the Grail, a piece of him was also in this arm," he said coldly. "But he is gone now. Those black flames were his parting gift."

And then he smiled, adding: "He is the second head of the Hellhound."

"Then who is the third?" she asked him.

"That's a secret. Sorry, Kirsche, but I don't trust you that much."

He began to walk away.

"Wait! You didn't answer all my questions."

"As I said, I don't trust you that much."

He continued to move along, Saber glaring at her as she followed him, and Kirsche began to understand why her counterpart Ginevra had developed such interest in him and Yagami.

* * *

In the middle of the city, on top of the tallest building, Caster of Black looked out at the place where the greatest battle would occur. From there, he could see the other five bases, and he ordered his creations to attack them. Five hundred golems appeared out of nowhere and descended upon all the faction bases, but he made sure to keep the collateral damage to a minimum.

"Go my creations, destroy our enemies," the Servant said as a fight in each of the bases began.

* * *

All ready for the next fight, the black faction leads an assault against the others, would the problems between brother affect them or not. Well Antares acting like boss. So please Review


	15. Chapter 14 Clarent

I don't own any characters except my own OC. The other OCs appearing in this story are property of the following authors:

Deux Silences - Atosaki Kurokawa

Suchbass - Kage

Nomorenamesleft - Yagami Kousuke

Count Valerian - Kirsche Von Einzbern.

Topographic Ocean - Breno Da Roche

AzarielKayras - Leo Wells

I thank you for lending them to me. Now, to the story!

* * *

Chapter 14 Clarent

"No, no! No! NO!" a voice screamed.

Caster of Zero couldn't believe it. He and his Master had been working without rest for the last five days, but they couldn't lift the curse on their victims. Partially because they didn't have the power to oppose the World, also because their methods all consisted of different tortures.

They believed that if subjecting them to incredible amounts of pain they would wake up, no matter the spell. This of course didn't make sense. He was the only Caster who would think to break a curse in such a way. Really, nothing more was to be expected from a man who didn't belong in that class.

The only reason both Master and Servant managed to remain "sane" was that they could torture them during the day. They realize this by mere coincidence, as one night they forgot to kill one of the people they had kidnapped and in the morning they woke up and heard him screaming out of pain. The pair had really missed this and brutalized him until nightfall. The answer became clear: kidnap at night and torture during the day.

They could enjoy themselves like always, but they would need self-control. It was a shame neither of them had such restraint. That knowledge filled them with despair. No matter how hard they tried to follow the rules, they couldn't, and they continued to torture the man before nighttime, when the spell reactivated and returned him to a deep slumber. Seeing this only increased their despair, as all the blood and screams from moments ago seemed little more than a memory.

It had come to the point the pair didn't know what else to do. They were simply unable to satisfy their bloodlust. The World had taken from them what they considered their only pleasure, and without it they felt empty.

In their lair, they began to hear footsteps. At first they thought it was just an illusion, but when the sound grew louder, the pair went to the entrance and found a man clad in black stand there, at his side a white dove with a camera around its neck.

"I must admit, that kid did a great job. Being able to find our enemies so easily is great. Don't you agree, Julius?"

They heard a voice that didn't belong to the man. Caster assumed the person in front of him was a Master and the voice belonged to his Servant. A smile appeared on Caster's face. If he captured him, he could torture him to his heart's content, until death.

"I must thank God for such a miracle. When I was about to fall into madness, He sent me this ray of hope. Miracles like this make me want to believe once again."

Julius looked around. He felt nothing but repulsion upon seeing the dead bodies of the people that this Servant had chosen as his playthings.

"Disgusting…"

"I have to agree with you, Master. By killing them we will be doing the world a favor."

They used the program Shinji developed and the small devices Kaus had brought three days ago. After creating an alliance with the Red Faction, both the white doves of Assassin of Red and Julius' crows were released to check the city.

That was how he had managed to find Caster. The dove had detected a great amount of heat coming from underground. Leo had his worries about sending him on his own, but before he could say anything else, Julius left the house. It was his mission to slay his brother's enemies, and, after that, die to allow Leo to get the Grail. That was his resolution.

Caster took out his tome made of human skin and opened it. A purple aura began to surround the book and a great quantity of amphibious demonic familiars appeared and encircled Julius. The assassin looked around with a sigh.

"Don't hold back."

"Aye sir."

As the horrors closed in, a couple of them exploded. A man with short reddish-orange hair wearing a traditional Chinese outfit appeared, his fist dripping with the blood of the creatures he had just killed.

He dashed at them with great speed, and in a matter of seconds he had killed all the monsters around them. As he bathed in their blood, a smile crossed his face.

"It seems this work won't be a waste of time after all."

Caster saw this and also gave him a mad smile. All of this futile resistance only made it more worthy a prize. Assassin ran at him as more creatures blocked his way. Julius couldn't understand the sick grins the two Servants wore.

* * *

Fiore looked at the clock in her room. By this time, the attack on the other bases should have begun. She felt too empty to care. She couldn't take that memory of Caules' eyes from her mind.

"My lady, are you alright?" Archer of Black said, appearing behind her.

"Archer, do you think I did the right thing?" she asked him.

Archer didn't know what to say. Personally he didn't approve, but he also understood her reasons.

"Tell me the truth, Archer. No, Chiron. Did I just make a terrible mistake?"

"I think you did, my lady. Your brother is the kind of person one can rarely find. He considered you so precious to him that he would use his wish to save you. I guess that many times you two only had each other."

Fiore just nodded. She also remembered the look on Berserker's face. As a Servant, she could feel his pain and sadness better than her.

"I inflict so much pain upon him…"

"You did. But I also understand your reasons, my lady. At the same time, I don't think this is the right thing to do. Just like you made your choice, he made his. Instead of pushing him away, stand at his side. Fight together with him so both will survive, so you don't have to make that decision yourself."

He knelt in front of her and wiped the tears that had been falling from her eyes.

"As your Archer, I will make sure you don't have to choose."

* * *

At the same time, Edward and Saber were standing outside the room of the kids. Clare was the only one actually inside. When they tried to enter, she had made everyone leave, including Alex. Edward wanted to help the girl, so he had Kousuke, who was passing by with Caster, take care of her brother while he tried to get her out of the room.

Up until now, all his attempts to persuade her had been futile. Saber, who snuck in using spirit form, ended up having a toy thrown at her head.

"That little brat! How dare she attack an emperor?!"

Edward needed all his strength of will to avoid laughing. In that moment, he and the other Masters felt something coming at them.

The first wave of golems slammed into the bounded fields and were promptly disintegrated. The Supervisor of the Sixth Faction looked out from her window and sighed with disappointment.

"Brute force won't work, you know."

And then a more specialized group of golems managed to bring down the outer set of bounded fields and allowed their brethren to enter the mansion grounds.

"Not bad…" she commented as she began changing her clothes. "…Caster of Black's work is first-rate. Let's have some fun, shall we…?"

The golems charged toward the mansion, lights flickering on across the building, only to stop as a second set of bounded fields activated and paralyzed them where they stood. The magic-wielding golems stepped up, only to be blown to bits by blazing purple beams.

"Battles between magi are battles of concepts. Furthermore, the older the concepts, the more powerful they become, or rather, they become more profound. Well, it means the same thing either way," Ginevra du Lac commented as she appeared on the roof, dressed in a white-belted blue dress with white shoes and a snowy cloak trimmed in blue. "Your magecraft is probably eight hundred years old, but mine is approximately three thousand. Enjoy the laser light show."

Ginevra smiled, and the skies above the mansion flashed purple as countless magic circles appeared and fired off a ground-scouring barrage of beams that annihilated the attacking golems and left the ground covered with smoking craters. She smirked, and then she looked up at the sound of beating insect wings. Sure enough, more golems were approaching, their dragonfly-like constructs swarming the mansion.

"I hate bugs."

Her expression fell, and with the wave of a hand blasted the approaching golems with a wind spell that sent them tumbling back several hundred meters.

"Strong…" she admitted as she activated a viewing sphere that showed her the battles raging across the city. "…Hmph… what are those stooges in the Black Faction plotting, I wonder?"

In the Castle of the Faction of Zero, Gilgamesh saw how the golems began to attack and how they broke through the bounded fields both Kayneth and Tokiomi had put up as defense. He saw Saber and Rider stand in front of them, ready to attack, but didn't have any interest in the fight. To eliminate rocks was no job for a king. Those peasants known as Heroic Spirits should be enough to deal with them. At least they would provide him a little amusement.

Saber broke through the first ten golems with ease, as they didn't have any other ability besides brute strength. Simple swings of her black blade were enough to reduce them to shreds. Even when their bodies disintegrated, jewels remained in the pile of dust left behind.

Kiritsugu, along with Tokiomi, noticed this and the two walked toward the remnants of the golem while being spotted by Rider's chariot. Kiritsugu picked up the jewel and gave it to Tokiomi.

"Is it possible?" he asked.

Tokiomi's eyes widen and a smile appeared on his face.

"Yes, this should work just fine to regain our spearman," he said with a grin.

At that very moment, a knight surrounded by a black mist appeared in the battlefield and with a roar took one of the arms of the golems, turning it black, and then joined the fight using the remnants of golems like a mace, while Kirei and Assassin acted as support.

"Kirei-kun, retrieve those jewels," Tokiomi then ordered him.

* * *

Looking up as she sensed the return of the flying golems, Ginevra flew into the air and summoned her staff.

"One tactic when it comes to dealing with superior enemy numbers is to attack…" she muttered."…This will turn the enemy's strength against him. However, one must take care not to lose the momentum or the initiative to the enemy, lest one be surrounded and annihilated."

Smiling, Ginevra reinforced her body to Servant-level and then shot forward like a bullet, the sonic boom shattering glass and dislocating objects on the ground below her. More than a few golems moved to intercept, only to be literally crushed as the bow wave of wind before her reduced them to powder, while the displaced air in Ginevra's wake left a trail of flame as the golems' destroyed remains burned as they fell to the ground.

She sensed more coming from the back of the mansion.

"They can't expect me to deal with all of them. They should at least be able to take care of those," she said, but then she realized something. "Isn't that where the kids' room is? …Well, can't be helped."

And she continued with the business in front of her.

* * *

Caster of Black couldn't understand how the attack of his creations could be deflected with such ease by that woman alone. But it wasn't only her, the Masters and Servants in all the bases stood their ground as well. From the five factions, three were having a hard battle. Besides Ginevra, a sorceress with purple robes was destroying his golems with the same method. None could see it, but he was smiling. He began to lose all restraint and sent all the remaining golems to the city. He no longer cared about collateral damage. He would wipe them all out.

"I gladly accept your challenge, magician of the age of the gods!"

Caster felt a horrible aura full of violence and blood. He turned and found a helmeted knight clad in red holding the head of one of the golems he had left near the building to protect him.

"And I thought that these pieces of rock would provide me some entertainment, but they are so weak." Saber of Red spoke while crushing the head of the golem. "Tell me that you have something better than this."

Saber rushed at him as three more golems appeared. She dodged their fists and hacked them to bits with ease. Caster couldn't even move as he saw her sword come at him, so fast, so strong. Right as the blade was about to reach him, the three golems combined into another one and punched Saber of Red to one side.

Saber was really surprised how its strength and speed had tripled, but this only made everything more worthwhile.

* * *

At the mansion of the Blue Faction, they managed to get rid of almost all the golems that came in the first wave. Thanks to Caster's bounded field and her abilities, she was able to destroy them, aided by the other Servants.

"That seems to be the last," Lancer said as he dislodged his spear from the floor.

The Servants saw another wave coming at them.

"You and your big mouth, Lancer," Archer said, tracing his swords.

* * *

Edward heard the sound of a window shattering from inside the bedroom. Saber broke down the door and they both saw a girl with short blond hair wearing a purple dress standing still as a monster made of rock was about to smash her. Saber moved at amazing speed and cut him down before he could lower his fist.

Edward was shocked. The girl hadn't shown any emotion or response at the attack. It was as if she didn't care she was about to get killed.

He walked up to her and saw her eyes. They were dead. Those were the eyes of someone who had lost something important. He couldn't blame the girl, as his eyes were the same when he survived that fire in his world.

"You want to die?" he asked.

"I do. I don't have anything left. If I die, I might be able to see Mom again."

Many times he had thought the same things in his childhood. Many times he had just wanted to die and let everything end. But he had been saved, so he couldn't let this girl be lost either.

"Death is never the answer."

The girl snapped.

"Don't talk like you know what I'm feeling! She's gone! My parents are gone! I don't have a reason to live!"

He knelt in front of her and hugged her.

"Live in their place then. Live while remembering each of them. Live because they can't. You survived thanks to your mother. Your life is no longer yours, but hers as well."

She began to cry on his shoulder.

"It hurts too much to remember them."

"Clare!" They heard a voice behind them.

A boy with dark hair wearing a t-shirt and jeans stood along with Kousuke at the door with an expression full of concern. Edward saw this and smiled at the girl.

"See? There is still someone who will be sad if you were gone. Clare, you are not alone. I know it hurts to remember, but never forget. Remember them until it doesn't hurt anymore. And until that moment, I will protect you," he said with a smile as he let the girl go to her brother.

Kousuke looked at him approvingly.

"There are more coming, Edward-kun."

"Let's go."

* * *

When Kairi arrived at the top of the building where his Servant was fighting, he found her on the floor being beaten by Caster's golem. But instead of feeling worried, he just sighed.

"You done playing?"

Saber suddenly stopped the golem's fist with her bare hands.

"Yep, I wanted to see if he could get stronger, but it seems I was wrong."

She tightened her grip, destroying the hand.

"It seems that no matter how many times I destroy him, he comes back," she said before taking off her helmet.

Mordred, the "son" of King Arthur, revealed herself as her sword began to shine, wrapped in a crimson glow. A twisted smile appeared on her face as she raised it.

"Clarent…."

Caster couldn't move. The pressure she exuded was enough to freeze him on the spot, and either way he didn't have a way to escape. He couldn't blame anyone but himself, being so focused on wiping out the two sorcerers he had forgotten about the swordsman behind him. But his defeat didn't matter. He had unleashed it, his greatest creation, the supreme Golem Adam.

"…Blood Arthur!"

Laughter filled the air as the sword fired a crimson beam at the magician and turned both him and his golem to dust. As his mask faded and his real face was revealed, he allowed himself a smile as he thought about that boy he had been with the last two months. He taught him all he could. It would take him a little more time, but he was now able to create golems on his own. As he continued to vanish, he gave his creations a final order.

"Des…troy… everything…"

"That wasn't so boring," Saber exclaimed as she looked at the sky.

She had seen it three days ago, the light which could only come from that holy sword. Her "father" was in the city. She would find her and she would finally make her hand over the right to be king. She felt a small tremor and when she walked to the edge of the roof, she saw how the golems were going berserk. She just smiled.

"This is getting interesting."

* * *

A whirlwind erupted outwards as Ginevra came to a halt, the magus dispersing the collected force of passage around her. Magic circles simultaneously sprung to life and fired off a fresh barrage of beams, destroying the few remaining flying golems around her.

She then realized some of the golems stopped coming at her, deciding instead to destroy the city. It wasn't something she really concerned herself about, since she was almost certain that the Masters of her faction would do something about it.

"They all have great talent. It's a shame some of them are goody two-shoes."

She saw the Masters of Archer, Saber and Caster leave the house along with their Servants to stop the golems.

"Indiscriminate fire approved…" she whispered with a sadistic smirk, and a barrage of beams rained down across the city. The beams left devastation in their wake, leveling buildings and ripping glowing gashes across the ground as they annihilated golems by the dozen. "…This is boring. No different from playing at an arcade…!"

Ginevra's eyes widened as she felt danger, and she quickly realigned her bombardment array to face the new threat. Several glowing projectiles flew toward her at supersonic speeds, only to be blown apart by precisely-aimed beams. The resulting explosions merely confirmed her suspicions.

"Broken Phantasms…?" she grumbled as her gaze narrowed. "There's only one person who would use those indiscriminately… EMIYA!"

A counter-barrage lit up the sky around her, the concentrated artillery fire of her beams immolating the target area–collateral damage and casualties notwithstanding–but Ginevra was sure that the Counter Guardian was already moving to a new position. And another threat was approaching, a silver, comet-like object streaking across the sky towards her.

"No way…" Ginevra whispered in disbelief as the comet slowed, pure white wings beating majestically as it approached. "…A Pegasus…!"

* * *

Kirsche looked from afar at the destruction her counterpart created while standing on top of a building. She didn't like senseless destruction, but she didn't have any reason to stop her either. She left the house before the attack, after that conversation with Edward, and she never expected to find such a reckless group of Masters who would attack during the day.

The behavior of her Servant was even weirder. Berserker had begun to deflect some of the beams that were aimed at the buildings in a futile effort to stop the destruction.

She sighed. It was something that was part of his soul. Even in his madness he couldn't forget his love for humans. According to the legends, he always wished for humanity to survive. That was why he fought so desperately to stop Ragnarök, but in the end it was useless.

As she continued to look at her Servant, she saw a golden arc in the sky coming at her.

"Berserker, come back," she ordered, and the giant returned to her side the very moment the King of Heroes appeared in front of them.

"I found you, god of thunder," he said, looking at the mad warrior. "My punishment of this world shall continue with your death."

"You're forgetting about me, King of Heroes?" she said with a smirk.

He looked at her carefully and then he realized something.

"You resemble Tokiomi, but your power is too great to be related to someone as pathetic as him. May I ask your name?"

"I don't need to answer you."

"Foolish girl, you can't deny the king! But I guess your name matters little, as you will disappear –"

He couldn't finish, as he needed to summon a couple of swords to block the lightning-wrapped hammer flying at him, and even when he managed to stop it, the strength of the thunder god was enough to break the swords and push him back.

"Insolent mongrel!" he yelled as portals appeared at his side.

* * *

Leo and Odysseus continued to battle the golems in the city. He didn't want innocent people to die because of the madness of some Servant.

He ran toward one and jumped over its head to slam it face-first into the floor. He moved to another and continued to attack. He couldn't break them, so he distracted them long enough for his Servant to kill them with one swift shot an arrow.

He continued on until he had to dodge a golem hurtling at him. It crashed into a lamppost, and in the direction it came from walked a woman wearing a suit along with a man who resembled Atosaki's Servant.

In the next second, Leo saw a crimson spear slash the air inches from his face.

"Damn, he's fast!" He moved quickly to avoid its path.

The spearman was about to press forward, and then he moved his spear to his right side to block the bowman's kick.

"Not bad." Lancer said, smirking.

"Well, I can't let you kill him just yet."

Leo rolled to one side as Bazett stood in front of him, ready to fight.

"I can't catch a break!" he cried in exasperation as he prepared for the attack of the enforcer.

* * *

After seeing the destruction created by Ginevra, Shirou and the rest of his faction decided to leave the defense of the base to Ilya and Caster while they took out the golems destroying the city.

They left Sakura there too, Shirou worried about her getting hurt, and along with Saber he began to eliminate the golems. He suddenly saw a pillar of crimson flames. Without thinking, his body moved toward its source.

When he got there, he saw a young man with a red jacket missing a sleeve and a claw instead an arm, along with a Servant who resembled his own. Normally he would be shocked by this, but when he saw the flames, he knew immediately this was the one responsible for that hell three days ago. The flames danced around him, and Shirou could only see the burned bodies of those poor people.

"You bastard!" he said as he dashed at him.

"Shirou!" Saber yelled, trying to stop him, but her warning fell on deaf ears.

The red Saber was the first to turn and got her sword ready to protect her Master, but a blue version of herself attacked her, leaving the way free for Shirou to get at the flame magus.

"Praetor!"

Shirou traced his blades and prepared to attack the man in front of him, but hearing his Saber, Edward summoned a spectral hand to stop Shirou mid-assault.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"You burned those people!" Shirou yelled.

Edward's eyes widen surprised, as he believed no one but his own group had seen that.

"Yes, so what? You expect me to leave them there as if nothing had happened?"

Shirou couldn't control himself. He dashed at him once again. Edward called upon his fire blades and in the middle of that chaos, in the middle of that city infested by golems, a man made of swords and a man made of flames clashed as their Servants did.

* * *

Servants Remaining: 40

Masters Remaining: 37

* * *

The sixth and blue faction clash as the city is attacked by golems.

Flame and steel clashed, the hero and the hellhound

Caster against Assasin in a sadistic fight of murderers

And the God of thunder against the strongest servant. Well make your bets.

Well give me your opinions and please review !


	16. Chapter 15 Different Path

I don't own any characters except my own OC. The other OCs appearing in this story are property of the following authors:

Deux Silences - Atosaki Kurokawa

Suchbass - Kage

Nomorenamesleft - Yagami Kousuke

Count Valerian - Kirsche Von Einzbern.

Topographic Ocean - Breno Da Roche

AzarielKayras - Leo Wells

I thank you for lending them to me. Now, to the story!

* * *

Chapter 15: Different Paths

Gene couldn't know this would be wrong. He didn't want to understand how he and the priest reacted so differently to the same thing. He was there, sending tornados out at the golems that had broken into the church. Karna was swinging his black spear and destroying all the ones which entered through the door while Shirou remained calm and with his Black Keys continued to cut down the monsters. The fact he could keep so calm make Gene felt uneasy.

Archer was on top of the church using her skills to shoot down any flying golems coming at them. Rider fought outside, laughing and laughing. No one was surprised—he had made it perfectly clear he liked fighting. His true identity was Achilles, the man who fought and died in a war only to gain glory, immortal glory. While crushing the golems with his spear, he couldn't help but remember those bygone times and how each swing of his blade ended the life of many good men.

This war wasn't any different. There were Masters and warriors, and this city was their battlefield. He didn't care about victims. In any war there were casualties, simple as that. Then, once he smashed the last golem in front of him, he waited for the next wave, a smirk on his face.

Yet it never come. Roots came up from underground, trapping the golems and seconds later destroyed them.

"It seems I finished in time."

He turned and saw Assassin standing along with her Master.

"No matter what, you never cease to amaze me, Assassin," Shirou said with a smile.

"I do what I can."

Shirou noticed Rider glaring at him, certain he was angry he couldn't continue the brawl. He decided to ignore him and looked at the destruction the remaining golems were causing. There were still hundreds running amok around the city. As the Red Faction continued to stare at the carnage, they heard footsteps coming at them.

Shirou Kotomine was no doubt an evil and manipulative man. He would kill all the Masters and use the Servants he stole from them to achieve his ambition without any feelings of guilt or remorse. The fact his wish seemed to be good didn't make him any better. But, while seeing the people being slaughtered, he couldn't help but feel the need to do something. After all, he used to be a hero.

"Rider, as you want to keep fighting, feel free to exterminate the golems."

Rider's eyes widened in surprise before he smiled. He didn't answer him back, instead running at a nearby group of golems.

"Archer, support him. Assassin, come with me." He turned to Karna and his Master. "Gene, you are free to do as you please."

"It's not like I have many choices," the blue-haired man complained.

Shirou was about to answer when Karna spoke.

"We will stay."

He looked at him, not really understanding what he meant, but decided to leave him be. The moment they were alone, Karna sighed.

"You can come out," Karna said as he pointed his spears towards a tree.

Saber of Black appeared in front of them, sword in hand, and without words he dashed at Karna. The two black blades clash with each other. The fact that the spearman was able to stop his attack made Saber of Black smile.

* * *

In the middle of the city, Atosaki and Lance watched in horror as the golems began to attack innocents. The Servant changed into his armor and began to protect the panicking people while being supported by his Master.

The blue spearman continued to destroy each of the golems at great speed, but they were still too many of them.

"Sowilo!" Atosaki called out while drawing the letter S with her index finger and shooting a ball of fire toward one of the golems.

The rock being was reduced to ashes, but at that very moment, another appeared behind her and prepared to smash her into the ground. Lance wouldn't make it over in time. Before the rock fist touched her, a mace destroyed the golem and Atosaki saw a girl with pink hair wearing a wedding dress. She recognized her as the Berserker who had fought against Leo, Breno and Kage.

At her side was a kid wearing glasses. She was actually relieved by seeing he was fine after Kage shot him in the chest. Lance ran to her side, ready to fight if needed, but Caules didn't seem to pay him any attention.

"It seems Darnic's plan failed. At this rate the city will be destroyed," he said with a sigh as Berserker looked at him, expecting his order. "Be careful, Berserker."

He gave her a small smile, making the bride blush as she ran at the golems.

"You sure are a lady-killer." Rider of Black appeared behind him.

"It's not like that, Rider," He turned to Atosaki. "Let's cooperate to destroy these golems. Don't worry, I don't have any intention of fighting with you."

Atosaki knew he was supposed to be an enemy, but he just helped her, and she knew that if he had wanted to kill her he could have, as there were two Servants on his side.

"Alright, let's work together. For the sake of these people."

"My name is Caules."

She showed a careful, tentative smile. "Hi, I'm Atosaki. Atosaki Kurokawa."

* * *

In the castle of the White Faction, Rider was laughing like crazy as she summoned cannons around her and blew the golems away. Archer supported her with his arrows, but the greatest force against the golems were the two berserkers crushing them without mercy.

The two Alices looked at how a crimson giant destroyed everything in his path. They smiled innocently as they viewed the bizarre spectacle in front of them.

"Keep up the game, Jabberwock!" the black Alice yelled, raising her fist.

The other Berserker moved along with a tanned girl with long gray hair wearing glasses and a white lab coat over a purple Indian dress.

He was a big man with red hair and armor with the face of a dragon on its chest. He wielded a halberd with such strength that one swing was enough to reduce the ten golems in front of him to dust.

Dan saw the fight from the bed of his room. The wound Kage had inflicted on him hadn't healed and he couldn't move yet. One more hit could mean death. He wondered where their so-called leader was, his brother too.

Unknown to him, Leo was jumping across the buildings with Gawain. Truth to tell, Leo was following his Servant. They had been fighting the golems when Gawain saw a bright red flare of light, and immediately he knew the identity of the person who had unleashed such power.

He'd knelt in front of Leo and implored him, "My king, please let me go to face an old foe I need to defeat."

Leo looked at him for a few seconds, forgetting about the fight in front of him.

"Alright, but I will go with you."

"As you command."

Mordred had felt the presence of a fellow knight and told her Master to wait. She knew who was coming and how strong he was. She had always wanted to fight him during the day. Many said that while sun was at its zenith, he was unbeatable.

"Hey Master, what time is it?" she asked.

Kairi looked at his wristwatch, a little confused by her question.

"Two in the afternoon."

This only made her smile. She decided not to put her helmet back on, as there was no point in hiding her identity. He would recognize her anyway.

In the next second, she saw a silver figure coming along with a blond boy. In the next three seconds, he was almost in front of her.

"Mordred!" he yelled, full of rage.

"Good to see you Gawain," she said as an excited smile appeared on her face.

The moment the holy swords met, the roof of the building shattered. Both Masters could only remain on its edges and observe the battle between knights unfold.

The clash ended in a draw, but instead of continuing, Gawain turned back and grabbed Leo and jumped to a nearby building.

"My king, please, for your own safety, remain here."

Mordred landed at his side along with her Master, who raised an objection.

"I thought you said you wouldn't carry me ever again!"

"Yeah, but I want to fight him without any interruptions," she said as both Servants glared at each other and jumped back to the previous building.

Leo watched this, thinking it was a shame he couldn't see such a fight up-close. Then he turned to the necromancer.

"So sir, what should we do while waiting for them?" he asked with a smile, putting on his gloves.

"You really are a cheeky brat, aren't you?" he returned as he loaded his shotgun. "Don't ask a question when you know the answer already."

On the other building, the two knights didn't notice that their Masters had begun to fight and continue to exchange blows at a breakneck speed.

They hacked at each other, but neither of them would back down. It wasn't just a matter of pride, either. They hated each other more than anything else. Mordred hated him because she believed him to be a mere dog that would follow her father without complaints, a man without ambition blinded by the illusion of a perfect ruler. On the other hand, Gawain hated her for two reasons, the first that she was the reason for the fall of his former king. She had led the revolution which destroyed Britain. The second was more banal. Her face and voice resembled Arturia's so much that it made his blood boil. Her very existence destroyed the image he had of her.

"That all you got, Gawain?"

"With that face! With that voice! Don't you dare speak in front of me!"

Gawain managed to push Mordred back, but only for a second. She dashed at him once again, and the two knights entered into a burst of crimson and silver light which destroyed everything them.

* * *

In another part of the city, flames and steel continued to clash. The two Sabers fought, careful not to intervene with their Masters' business. Arturia was surprised. Nero was able to fight on par with her, and she didn't seem to have been forced to serve her Master. She didn't feel she was a bad person. Maybe she didn't have honor, but she wasn't the type of Servant to do evil.

"Why do you serve such an evil master?" Arturia asked as the golden and crimson blades collided.

Nero tightened the grip on her sword and looked at Arturia with eyes full of hate. She remembered what her Master had told her back in their world.

"Maybe they are right, maybe I am a monster, maybe I'm evil." He then turned toward her with a smile. "But if that's the price to pay so I won't lose anyone ever again, the price to protect them, then it's not that bad."

She pushed Arturia back with a strength she hadn't felt before.

"Don't you ever dare call my Praetor evil, you poor excuse for a king. He has withstood at least ten times more suffering than you."

Arturia was frozen by her words, the resolution of which almost making her wonder if they were fighting the right person. But only for a second. She had recognized his flames as the ones she saw along with Shirou three days ago.

Nero swung her blade three times. Arturia dodged each of the slashes and closed the distance between them, ready to slice into her. The moment she got close enough, her adversary raised her arms into the sky.

"Aestus Domus Aurea!"

Both Servants were engulfed by crimson light.

Edward saw the light as he blocked another one of Shirou's attacks.

"I told her to calm down." He looked at his opponent. "Arturia must have pissed her off."

Shirou's eyes widened in surprise.

"You… You know Saber?" he asked in disbelief.

"Kind of. We fought against her, but she was a Berserker then." He smiled at the memory. "And my Saber beat her."

Shirou was speechless. The mysteries surrounding the guy in front of him just kept multiplying.

"Well, you never answered me. Who are you?"

Shirou thought for a second before replying.

"Shirou Emiya."

Edward's eyes widened.

"Emiya…?" He was really surprised. "Your father is Kiritsugu Emiya?"

This time it was Shirou's turn to be surprised.

"I will take that as a yes. So tell me, little bro, why do you want to fight me so badly?"

Shirou ignore the "little bro" part and answered him.

"You killed innocent people!"

He ran at Edward, who sighed knowing he couldn't keep fighting for too long, not yet recovered from all the damage Pleiades had inflicted upon him. He wondered why he was being accused of killing innocent people. Sure he wasn't a saint, but he wasn't a murderer either.

"I haven't killed anyone."

"I saw the hell you created!"

"Why do you even care?"

"Who gave you the right to kill those people?!"

Edward pushed him back. He couldn't help but think that the boy in front of him was too naïve and remembered the ideal of his dad to become a hero of justice—an ideal he had rejected. But what made him angry was Shirou talking like that when he didn't know anything at all. He'd really wanted to help those people, he didn't wish for their deaths, and he regretted not being able to kill Pleiades.

"Shut up! Where were you when those people were in trouble?!" He grabbed Shirou's black sword with his crimson claw and broke it. "Don't seek revenge for those you failed to save!"

He punched him in the face with his right hand.

Shirou fell to the ground. The next second he stood, breathing heavy.

"Guided by experience…"

Edward got a bad feeling and readied himself.

"Production complete. Complete Trace… Standby!"

Thirty Noble Phantasms appeared at his side, ready to fire.

"What the…?"

"Complete Trace, Continuous Fire!"

"Crimson Aegis!"

The moment the blazing shield clashed against the swords it almost shattered. It could withstand the first ten, but the others cut through the flames and through his skin.

"Never forget you were born from flames!" he shouted as he pushed what remained of the shield out like a wall and used it to deflect the rest of the blades coming at him.

It wasn't enough. The blades destroyed the wall and broke through. He waited with his crimson blades in his hands.

"Crimson Inferno!"

Shirou jumped to one side, barely dodging the slash of flames, but even so they managed to burn his left side.

The two fighters looked at each other.

"You talk too much for a sinner, Shirou."

"What are you talking about?"

"Both of us traded the lives of those people for ours in that fire ten years ago. We ran and abandoned others crying for help. What can we be besides sinners?"

Shirou didn't know how he knew about the fire, and he didn't really care.

"Shut up! It's true that I'm a sinner, but that's why I decided to save people, to save others in order to make up for those I couldn't save back there!"

"Wrong. You are just being selfish, unable to bear the guilt. If you want to make it up to them so badly, live a fulfilling life for those who aren't able to live their own. Smile, hate, love, live because of those who can't!"

"You're talking as if helping others is a mistake!" Shirou answered, rushing at him with his twin blades.

"It is if you forget the ones close to you to protect them!" Edward yelled back as they began to exchange blows with one another.

"I'm not forgetting anyone! I just want to help others!"

"Kiritsugu wanted the same, but the cruel reality is that we can't help everyone. So at least I will protect those important to me!"

"And you're calling me selfish? You're just afraid of being alone."

"At least it's better than living for a dream!"

* * *

The King of Heroes couldn't deny he was impressed. Even without his sanity, the instincts and power of the thunder god were first class.

He continued to shoot Noble Phantasms at him while seated on his throne of his ark, the Vimana, as Thor flew at lighting speed, reflecting them with ease using his hammer.

Kirsche thought it an impressive battle, as there were few heroes able to fight on par with Gilgamesh. Still, she couldn't help feeling ignored by both Servants as they began to fight. But, for one, it wasn't time for her to use all her power. After all, there had to be some use of it for her so-called teammates.

As the Servants continued to clash, a streak of flames came at her. She noticed right away and recognized them almost immediately. She look at their owner, who brought a frown to her face: Tokiomi Tohsaka.

"Impressive," he said. "It's an honor to fight such a powerful magus."

"A surprise attack. I understand now, the one who made the Tohsakas fall so low was none other than you."

Tokiomi didn't seem affected by her words, but the very moment he saw her face, his expression clearly changed.

"Sakura?"

Kirsche glared at him. On his side, Tokiomi didn't understand how a future version of his daughter could be before him, but after learning that there was also a future Rin, he only assumed it was a miracle produced by Gaea.

"I abandoned that name a long time ago, Tokiomi. I'm Kirsche von Einzbern now."

Tokiomi felt the power coming from her and couldn't help but smile out of pride.

"It seems that giving you away to develop your talents was the right choice after all."

"You poor excuse for a father," she said as she revealed her silver gloves. "I guess that this war won't be a complete waste of time."

Tokiomi didn't pay her much attention, still observing how his daughter had developed. Still, something was off. He had given her to the Matous but according to her name, she was part of the Einzbern family.

"I shall test you, Sakura." A red circle appeared in front of him. "Intensive Einäscherung!"

A torrent of flames came at Kirsche, who didn't even try to dodge. The smoke created by the flames cleared and revealed a shield made of silver string in front of her. She began to laugh.

"So this is all the power you obtain after sacrificing your family? I guess I was wrong, then. You aren't just a failure as a father, but as a magus also. I have met people with flames way stronger than that."

* * *

Back in the city, the two Masters of the Sabers continued to cut and burn each other, both facing each other barely able to stand. Edward had deep gashes all over while Shirou had heat blisters covering him.

"This is all you can accomplish following that dream?" Edward demanded to know.

Shirou glared at him. His words made him angry, maybe because he sounded like Archer, saying his ideal was nothing but a dream. And he already knew that, but that was the very reason he continued to believe in it.

"I know it's nothing but a dream, but that's what makes it so beautiful!" Shirou yelled as they ran at each other.

"Beautiful words can't save anyone!"

They clashed, unable to make the other fall back.

"No matter what, to lose someone important to you is never worth it!"

Their blades broke, and instead of creating new ones Shirou punched Edward in the face with a reinforced fist.

"I know that! That's why I will protect everyone. I will sacrifice this life to make sure everybody can be happy!"

Edward stood his ground and answered with a knee to Shirou's stomach.

"Then what about the people who love you?!" He saw Shirou fall to his knees. "Do you think your sacrifice will bring them happiness? Little bro, it's easy to die for something, but what's hard to do is live."

Edward knew from experience. He remembered all the times he had made Nero cry. Many times, no matter how much he wanted her to smile, he continued to make her worry by being reckless, and no matter the result, it didn't make up for seeing her saddened.

Shirou could understand his words. By sacrificing his life he would leave the people sad. The people who wanted him to live. He remembered Rin crying while holding him by the shirt, worried about him and afraid that he would end up dead following that path.

Both had very valid opinions, and neither was going to back down. At this point, Shirou had forgotten the reason the fight had begun. Now, he just wanted to defeat the man in front of him and prove he wasn't wrong.

Shirou stood up and looked at the young man with the crimson eyes. He knew about the fire. He had been a survivor, both wanted to protect others, both were twisted beings. They were very similar, but each had made a different choice about life. One decided to live for the sake of others while the other wanted to protect those close to him to avoid being alone. One wanted to protect everyone and the other wanted to protect a few. Their ideals clashed with each other. While focusing on the few one could not protect many, and while protecting many one would be unable to protect just a select few.

The steel and the flame that were supposed to be in harmony wanted to destroy each other. But even then they harbored no hatred.

"Shirou, I didn't kill those people. I was attacked along with a teammate by a Counter Guardian. Apparently she wasn't supposed to, but still did it. In order to cover the attack, she destroyed all the nearby houses. After the fight, I burned the dead bodies to make sure she couldn't do anything else to them."

Shirou's eyes widened. He searched for any hint of deceit but couldn't find any. His instincts were telling him that the person in front of him was telling the truth.

Now, there was something on Edward's mind he wanted to confirm.

"You remember them?"

"What?"

"You remember your previous life? Your real parents, your friends, anything?"

Shirou remained silent, unable to answer.

"So you forgot… "

In that moment, a pillar light appeared off to the side and Arturia emerged, tired after using Excalibur, and Nero was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing this, Edward's eyes went round.

"Saber…" he whispered.

* * *

Leo Wells was having trouble with Bazett. The Enforcer was so fast that Leo could barely dodge her attacks. That wasn't all, she was really strong, almost to the point Leo wondered if she was human.

"Well, I'm not one to talk," he said as he dodged another kick.

Odysseus wasn't doing any better. It was a shame he didn't have any other weapon besides his bow, as he could only block with it, and against a Servant specialized in close combat it was the worst.

"Curse my luck," he muttered as he jumped and shot another volt of energy.

"Come, don't be like that. You are pretty good for a bowman!" Lancer answered with a smirk.

The volt of energy turned into an axe, one that Lancer blocked. Odysseus smiled because he never expected him to get hit; it was all part of his scheme. Lancer jumped after him and swung his spear. The bowman managed to block in time but was sent crashing into the floor.

Lancer got ready for the kill, but as he came closer, an axe was swung at him. He barely dodged and saw Odysseus stand with two axes in his hands.

"The battlefield is ready," he said with a smile.

Telemachus, the bow he received from his friend Heracles, bore the name of his son. It was the very bow he had used to slay the suitors of his wife when he returned home. He could fire fifteen bolts of energy that turned into axes on the moment of impact. Fifteen axes for the fifteen suitors he had killed, but in this case, he had missed those fifteen shots. Now the axes were lying on the street and were ready for him to use to fight in close combat.

Lancer hadn't notice the scheme. He, like many in the past, had fallen for the tricks of the Greek.

"Interesting. This shall be fun!"

On the other end, Leo had managed to punch Bazett, but the blow didn't hurt her much. She readily countered with her own fist, making Leo crash into one of the light posts. Still, she didn't notice at the moment of the impact, Leo had twisted her arm ninety degrees.

Bazett was about to run at him once again when her entire body began to vibrate. Her vision become blurry and she begun to feel nauseous. Leo used the opening to throw an uppercut at her.

"Resonance Punch," he said in a whisper as he threw a second strike to her abdomen and made her fall to the ground.

That was an attack which, after the punch, created vibrations in the target that would stop only when they hit the floor.

He used a lot of strength, expecting to do some damage, but the Enforcer just stood and spat some blood and got ready to continue.

"Okay, you have to be kidding me! That last blow should have at least broken a few ribs!"

Bazett looked at him for a few seconds and answered, "It did, but I have gone through worse."

"And I thought the priest was tough."

* * *

A crimson knight and a silver knight continued to duel, each strike meant to kill. This was no longer a battle between true knights. There was no honor, no respect. It was just a fight full of violence.

Mordred was pretty beat up while Gawain, if nothing else, was tired. The protection of the sun didn't let him get hurt, but he could get physically worn down. Mordred was fuming with rage. She had expected him to be strong, but this was ridiculous.

The only reason she was still breathing was that Gawain's blind hatred made his movements sloppy. Still, another part of her couldn't shake the excitement she felt fighting against such an opponent.

She needed to finish this. Her sword began to glow just like moments ago.

"Clarent…"

Gawain saw this and got ready to counter with his own sword.

"Excalibur…"

Two columns of light, one red and the other silver, appeared in the sky, each representing the ultimate attack of both knights.

"…Blood Arthur!"

"…Galatine!"

A golden sun and a scarlet beam clashed in the middle of the building, reducing it to nothing but rubble as the clash sent the two knights flying off to different sides. The explosion clouded the area, but the two figures exited the smoke and landed atop different buildings.

They glared at each other. The battle was far from over, but as they were about to proceed, they felt a tremor in the ground and they saw something emerge that made them stop their fight.

* * *

"A Gorgon and a Pegasus…" Ginevra muttered as she flew through the air and dodged a second wave of Broken Phantasms, returning fire with lightning bolts this time as opposed to beams. "…This just isn't my day."

Sighing, she landed on a nearby building and walked several steps to give space for the Pegasus to land. A moment later, Archer jumped onto the building and sped towards her with dual falchions at the ready, only to cry out as Ginevra blasted him and held him back with lightning. Rider threw one of her stakes at Ginevra, forcing the Sixth Faction Supervisor to cease fire to dodge. The other stake was hurled at Archer, who was prevented from resuming his attack.

"Rider…!" he shouted. "What are you…?"

"That's enough, the two of you." Rider said quietly but forcefully. "There's no need for us to fight." She faced Ginevra. "You wish to talk, don't you?"

"A Counter Guardian who is of the Archer class and a Gorgon," Ginevra replied with a shrug. "I may be on par with a Caster-class, but I know when I'm outmatched. I'd have settled down immediately if Archer there didn't keep on attacking."

"Considering how much collateral damage and the lives you've taken…" Archer began, only for Ginevra to break out laughing.

"Oh that's funny," Ginevra finally said after her laughter subsided. "A Counter Guardian lecturing me on killing people… Archer, you don't have the right to do that."

"Who are you?"

"The Supervisor of the Sixth Faction: Ginevra du Lac."

"I call bullshit."

"Call it bullshit if you want, but it's still the truth," Ginevra said with another shrug. "I have many names, all of which are true, but just like clothes they are each used whenever appropriate. Isn't that right, EMIYA?"

"Bastard…!" Archer hissed, hefting his falchions and causing Rider to tense as she dismounted.

"Must you be so abrasive, Supervisor?" Rider asked as she approached and gave a warning look to Archer.

Ginevra snorted. "The hypocrisy of the Counter Guardians is well-known to me. I find this particular Counter Guardian particularly distasteful."

"I see," Rider said and then she sighed. "You've changed a lot, and not necessarily for the better. You are less like the girl I know, or her sister, and more like our Caster instead."

"Oh…" Ginevra said with evident curiosity. "…that sounds interesting. Does your Caster happen to look like me, sans the eyes and pointed ears?"

"And if I said yes, what would you say?" Archer replied, and Ginevra laughed again.

"Oh that's right, now I remember: despite being a good-for-nothing dog and a faker, you also did have something of a sense of humor. As for that question, I would respond with one of my own: did those girls you mention happen to be estranged sisters?"

"They are," Rider answered. "What of you and your sister?"

"We keep in touch," Ginevra said, completely unaffected by the question. "She plays peacemaker between me and that idiot she loves. That idiot… he's going to break her heart eventually. I don't even have to lift a finger to make it happen, it is…inevitable."

Archer's eyes widened in shock and then narrowed. "He's an idiot is he?"

"Yes he is," Ginevra replied while looking off into the distance. "Someone who always tries to play the hero…"

"Supervisor du Lac…" Rider began hesitantly. "…no, Supervisor Sakura. what happened to you?"

"I'm guessing you're the Servant of one of my counterparts, aren't you?" Ginevra noted clinically, and Rider nodded. "Easy enough to answer; according to Zelretch's data, I became the youngest Master to ever fight in any Holy Grail War at the age of six, and in doing so avoided the fate that awaited my other selves."

"Your Servant was that witch, wasn't she?" Archer asked, and Ginevra raised an eyebrow.

"That witch also happens to be my mother," she replied coldly. "Watch your language Dog of Alaya, or I'll rip your head off and present it to His Majesty."

"Humph," Archer sneered. "You can try."

The atmosphere tensed, and then a terrible presence shook the air.

"…What the hell?" Archer said.

Their eyes widened as something that should not be came to be.

"Oh hell," Ginevra said with an eye twitching. "…we… are in serious trouble."

"Way to go with the understatement, Sakura," Archer commented, also sweating at the sight of it.

"Shut up."

"We'll just have to finish this conversation later," Rider said, and this time both Archer and Ginevra snorted.

"Assuming there's a later," Archer said darkly.

"Hear, hear," Ginevra concurred.

* * *

the longest chapter i have ever wrotte but cant be helped. Makes your guess about the one appearing in the end and before any complain Nero is capable to match Arturia inside Domus aurea as the theater increse all her stats to A+


	17. Chapter 16 Knights

I don't own any characters except my own OC. The other OCs appearing in this story are property of the following authors:

Deux Silences - Atosaki Kurokawa

Suchbass - Kage

Nomorenamesleft - Yagami Kousuke

Count Valerian - Kirsche Von Einzbern.

Topographic Ocean - Breno Da Roche

AzarielKayras - Leo Wells

I thank you for lending them to me. Now, to the story!

* * *

Chapter 16 Knights

In the underground battle between the two killers, Assassin of White had taken the lead. No matter how many horrors Caster of Zero created, he just smashed through them, not showing any sign of fatigue.

"This is boring," Assassin said. "Such weak opponents will only serve to dull my fist. I guess this is all a man who fell into depravity is capable of."

Without hearing an answer, the assassin rushed at him and prepare to smash his skull with his Noble Phantasm, "No Second Strike."

Black blades came from the ground, aiming to kill the enemy and protect their master. Assassin dodged them easily and positioned himself in front of the spellcaster.

Gilles de Rais was completely caught off guard by the ability of the Chinese man and, guided by what remained of the instincts he had developed as a soldier, used his book as a shield to protect himself.

The timing was perfect. Even the assassin couldn't change the trajectory of his fist in time, and it only managed to collide with the tome.

But that was the worst possible outcome. "No Second Strike" wasn't a normal attack, rather, a blow that destroyed anything it hit, disrupting the very flow of life coursing through it. In the case of humans, the circulation of blood and other processes; for Servants, mana. Normally when it touched an object, the object would be destroyed and that would be end of it, but as this tome was a Noble Phantasm, something different happened.

Caster of Zero was sent flying to one of the walls of the sewers.

"Tch. I missed," Assassin said, angry.

Caster stood up and looked at his tome and saw the big mark Assassin's fist left behind. In that moment, the tome began to emit a dark glow. Assassin's fist had broken the flow of mana inside the tome and made it go into overdrive. Tentacles sprouted from the tome, surprising both Servants, and began to overwhelm the spellcaster.

Assassin jumped back to his Master and both watched in shock how the other pair was devoured by the tentacles before becoming a monster they couldn't describe as anything more than a horror.

* * *

Antares watched along with Kaus and Pleiades from the sky how a monster emerged below, seeming ready to destroy everything. The crimson knight knew that if this continued, the city would be demolished, and without a proper arena the War would be boring.

As he continued to think, Situla appeared behind him, seeming a little tired.

"Hey Antares, I just finished evacuating the city."

Kaus and Pleiades were surprised at the statement. There were a great amount of people and to take them somewhere else could be dangerous for the war.

"How did you even do that?" Pleiades asked.

"I have my ways," Situla answered and then turned to Antares. "What do we do now?"

"Let the participants take care of this," he said as he descended to one of the buildings to watch how this would unfold. The others followed.

Pleiades had bandages all over her body and her right arm was still burnt from the slash she had received from the Hellhound. She wanted to kill him and Kousuke so badly for humiliating her, but she couldn't. Antares had warned her that if she tried anything funny again he would personally reduce her to dust. But there were other means of killing them.

There were two reasons behind his decision, the first being the oath. Before anything they were Counter Guardians and the order of Alaya came before all else. The second was that the two Masters along with Gilgamesh and many others had caught his attention. He would use this war to determine who was the strongest and the one he would face when the war was over. For that, he didn't want any intervention.

* * *

The two Masters of the Sabers looked at the monster. Arturia recognized the horror as the Caster she had fought in the Fourth War. But in a way she was mistaken, in her time the monster had a conscience, controlled by the desire of the spellcaster to murder and revolt against God, but this time it was a mindless creature that wanted to destroy everything.

Arturia looked back at the young man with crimson eyes and got ready to attack him until Shirou stopped her.

"It's over Saber, we won. There are more important things to do," he said as the two began to walk away.

"Running away?"

Arturia stopped and turned to see her red counterpart on the roof where they had been fighting.

"How?!" She couldn't understand.

Nero took a small bow.

"Such an artist like me can feign her own death."

Arturia's eyes grew wider at her words as she remembered what happened inside the theater.

The two Sabers had been evenly matched. This was a surprise for Arturia, as when they first clashed she could feel she was stronger.

It wasn't strength alone, either. Speed, endurance, all were amplified, and Nero had begun to push her back.

"Ready to repent for calling my Praetor evil?" Nero asked with a smirk.

"He may not be evil, but I can recognize a cursed man when I see one."

Arturia expected another outburst of rage, but instead Nero just laughed.

"So?" she said with a smile, surprising Arturia. "So what if he is cursed? So what if this world rejects him? I have proclaimed as the emperor I am that I shall remain at his side 'til the very end, and if he is truly cursed then the two of us can burn in hell together."

Arturia couldn't say anything in response, though she felt some admiration for the relation the two shared.

"I see. Then out of respect, I shall eliminate you with my strongest attack."

Her blade began to glow and a golden whirlwind appeared around her.

Nero raised her hands and whispered a few words Arturia didn't manage to catch because of the wind. The next moment, flames surrounded her.

"Ex…"

"Fax…"

"…calibur!"

"…Caelix!"

Crimson flames and a golden beam clashed in the middle of the theater, and Arturia's attack apparently managed to consume the flames and the Servant clad in red, but only apparently.

Before Arturia could demand any answers at present, the Masters interrupted her.

"Calm down you two. We have bigger problems," Shirou said.

They two swordswomen glared at each other, one with a frown and the other a smirk. It was obvious those two wouldn't get along. One was an example of nobility and honor while the other was an example of excess and pride.

"Alright Shirou, let's call a truce until that monster is…" Edward didn't finish as they felt another presence coming. "Little brother, I'm entrusting this to you."

"What?"

"You're a hero of justice, right? Prove to me you are by protecting the people of the city!"

Shirou just nodded and the pair began to run toward the monster.

"Shirou, next time we meet, I shall burn that ideal of yours. No matter what, I can't forgive that you forget."

Shirou stopped for a second and looked back at him before continuing as Saber grabbed him and jumped through the buildings. Once they were far away, Nero looked at her master and all the cuts he had on his body.

"You sure went easy on him, Praetor."

Edward answered with a smile as flames came from the cuts and sealed them.

"Well, he is family. Even if he is an idiot." He then put a hand over her head. "Don't worry me like that ever again."

Before she could reply, a gladiator appeared in front of them, ready to cut down the oppressor once and for all.

"How come this guy appears every time we have a moment?" Saber complained.

"I guess he must really hate kings in general." He turned to Berserker of Red. "We can't let him get Shirou. We need Arturia's Noble Phantasm to beat that… that thing."

Edward's hair turned crimson and the head of the hound appeared on his left arm.

"This time I will send you back to hell, Spartacus!"

* * *

Kousuke and his Caster arrived to the place where the being that used to be Caster of Zero emerged. They landed on a nearby building and looked with disgust at the monster, also noticing the great power coming from it.

"Tamamo, is that a Servant?"

"No." She carefully observed the beast in front of them. "But it used to be one. Now it's just a monster devoid of any reason. I can't believe such a monster interrupted our date!"

"It wasn't a date. We were destroying golems," Kousuke said with a sigh.

"Goshujin-sama, you didn't have to say it like that," she answered, pouting.

"Sorry. Tell you what, after we're done with this guy, I will take you somewhere nice," he said with a smile. "So can you beat him?"

Caster's eyes beamed with excitement.

"I will destroy anyone who dares stand between me and my beloved master!"

Before they could do anything, a black swordswoman appeared out of nowhere and swung her blade at Kousuke. It was so fast that the young magus couldn't react in time. Still, Caster put up her mirror between the two, and she glared at the Saber of Zero.

"You foul woman, you intend to hurt my master?!" she yelled as the shield pushed her back.

Kousuke was about to help her when his instincts screamed at him to turn. He did so while drawing his sword, just in time to block the attack of a priest's Black Keys aiming at him. Kousuke recognized the priest as the supervisor of the War in his world.

"Kirei Kotomine," he said with disdain, not particularly fond of the man.

He pushed him back and pointed his index finger at him.

"Rikujo…"

The sound of a gun being fired prevented him from finishing. Kousuke turned and saw the barrage of bullets coming at him, shot by the Magus Killer.

The reason behind the actions of the two Masters was simple. Caster's monstrous form was a threat, no doubt about it, but it was also an asset. The being was uncontrollable but also powerful. They could use its rampage to take out all the remaining Masters or at least weaken them enough to kill them. In the worst case scenario, Kiritsugu could use his Saber's Noble Phantasm to destroy the monster. It was a fact that it would destroy the city, and he really hated to be the cause of death for so many innocent people.

Not to be misunderstood, though he hated the fact he needed to resort to such methods, this had been his path throughout his entire life: to kill one to save ten, ten to save a hundred, and so on. If a city had to be sacrificed in order to save the rest of the world, in order to stop all wars and for everyone to be happy, then so be it.

Kirei didn't share such sentiments and couldn't help but feel happy seeing all the destruction the monster that used to be a Heroic Spirit created. His reason for intervening was so no one could stop it. He wanted to see the despair in the faces of the other contestants as they realized they were doomed. In other words, he wanted to see them lose hope.

Kirei smiled as he saw the bullets about to hit Kousuke, but that smile faded when shadows sprung from the floor and blocked all of them. At that very moment, the Magus Killer jumped to one side and dodged a separate rain of bullets and turned to see the shooter. His eyes widened upon seeing a young man who resembled him.

"I found my target," Kage said as he reload his Calico.

He, on the other hand, didn't seem surprised at all. He only saw his enemies, targets to be killed. Just like the Magus Killer, he was like a machine. As Kiritsugu stood up, Kage looked around and saw the remaining forces of Kirei's Assassins appear around them.

"Assassin, eliminate the opposition," he said, emotionless, to his own Servant as he prepared to fight against the Magus Killer.

With Kage's support, Kousuke could focus on defeating the enemy in front of him fast, and then they could take care of Caster. A katana and a pair of Black Keys began to clash in harmony with the sound of guns being fired, bullets deflecting each other.

* * *

Karna and Saber of Black continued to exchange blows at an amazing speed, neither caring if they got hit. Each had an ability that made them unable to sustain damage unless in great amounts. Gene looked at this and decided to not intervene, as he'd probably just end up dying.

Even now, Karna couldn't feel anything from Saber's sword: there was no will or soul. His strikes were strong, but he knew there was something wrong with the knight he was fighting. No knight would hide like that, and all of them possessed great drive.

He managed to push back.

"You are a boring man, silver knight," Karna said with disdain as his left eye began to glow.

A crimson beam came from it, a beam of pure power with its only purpose being to destroy the enemy in front of him.

"Brahmastra!" Karna yelled.

The swordsman's smile had faded just after the first clash and he fought like a robot. He didn't like it, but he obeyed the orders he received. His real identity was Siegfried, the great hero of Germany, an invincible knight whose legend was as famous as King Arthur's. He was a very loyal person who would obey the order of his master whether he liked it or not. He had been ordered to gauge the power of the Lancer of the Red Faction, though he didn't know the reason behind it. Still, as his aim was only to test the waters, he wasn't allowed to fight seriously. It was a shame that a knight of his caliber had such a cowardly master.

Really, it was a shame he belonged to the Black Faction in the first place, as his real wish was to be an ally of justice, an ally of the people. He didn't care about the Grail, he didn't want to fight for his lord or for himself; he wanted to fight for the justice he believed in.

In such a group that wanted to win for their means, it wasn't possible, but it wasn't to say that the Black Faction was evil. They just aimed for victory like any other being would do in their position. It was human nature. But that very nature went against his wish, so he remained silent and only hoped that at the end he could achieve his dream.

As the beam continued to come closer, he raised his sword.

"O sword, let thee be filled," he said in a whisper as the weapon began to emit a twilight aura.

The light swelled around the sword, ready to unleash its power.

"Balmung!" he yelled.

He shouldn't have used his Noble Phantasm, but as a sign of respect for such a pathetic fight he decided to do so.

He swung his blade and released a wave of dusky energy in a semicircle around him, cutting the crimson beam in half.

The light hit Karna and his Master before the former could even react, destroying the church as well.

Saber of Black looked at the destruction he had just created, not expecting his opponent to get back up, but then from the rubble that used to be the church, Karna stood with his Master on his back. Some cracks had formed in his armor and blood streamed from his forehead.

"To make me believe you weren't fighting serious so you could later set me up, really a despicable man. Still, I must admit, it's a good strategy." Karna summoned his spear and pointed at Saber. "Come make this fight worth it."

* * *

Gilgamesh didn't seem to care about the monster, just like the golems it was something that didn't deserve his attention, after all the God of Thunder had proven to be more interesting prey. Thor didn't share his thoughts. The moment the monster appeared the King of Heroes turned into a secondary target, for as always he wanted to protect humanity.

"Well done, Thunder God, no wonder you were considered the strongest of the Aesir," Gilgamesh stated.

It wasn't a mistake. Many legends told that Ragnarök, the end of the world for the Norse gods, happened because he had decided to leave Asgard and abandon his kind. Without their champion they couldn't stop the invasion of the giants, Ragnarök began.

Thor dashed at Gilgamesh at lightning-fast speed, dodging and blocking every weapon coming at him until he stood ready to strike and end the battle. Before he could finish it, he was confined by Enkidu, the heavenly chains, the most trusted weapon of Gilgamesh.

"You were close, mongrel, but don't feel bad. It is the destiny of all beings on this earth to fall against me," Gilgamesh said with satisfaction.

The outcome was decided. No god could escape from those chains. He couldn't move. Still, Thor smiled at the King of Heroes and the latter felt danger, but it was too late. Gilgamesh had made a huge mistake. He didn't notice that Thor had his hammer up when he wrapped the chains around him.

"Alfheim!" Thor yelled as lighting came from the skies and struck the golden Servant.

The chains left Thor's body as Gilgamesh fell into the roof of one of the nearby buildings along with the Vimana. He remained there for a second before standing with a face full of rage.

"You dare to look down on me!"

In that moment, he pulled out a weapon that resembled a blade, but it couldn't be labeled like that either. Even with a grip, a hand guard and a length of a long sword, rather than having a blade it was composed of a cylindrical, drill-shaped pillar divided into three sections. It was the king's greatest treasure, the sword that separated heaven and earth and turned chaos into order.

"Wake up, Ea. There is a fool who needs your judgment."

Thor could feel the power coming from it and decided to counter using a weapon with power proportional to it. Another clap of thunder came from behind him as the two Servants looked at each other. Ea's three segments began to rotate, forming a crimson whirlwind around Gilgamesh, while Thor's hammer was wrapped in lighting.

"Enuma Elish!"

"Mjolnir!" Thor yelled as he threw his hammer towards the oncoming beam.

Thunder and the scarlet beam capable of destroying the world clashed in the sky.

This was a clash of power and will between two Servants who, at the core, were very similar. Both had rejected their gods and decided to stand with humanity because of faith.

Yet such a spectacle had only one witness. Kirsche looked on, impressed, at the display of power shown by her Servant. She heard a groan and turned to a bloody Tokiomi kneeling on the floor, his body covered in cuts from her wires.

Tokiomi was completely surprised. He wasn't weak by any means, but his flames didn't once reach her and she could break easily through his barriers. As if reading his thoughts, Kirsche decided to speak.

"Tokiomi, your flames are as strong as your will. A man like you who lived only to be a magus is empty," she said without emotion.

She wanted revenge on the man who had given her to the Matous, but after seeing him so pathetic that she could easily kill him at any moment, she wanted to explain things a little.

Kirsche had asked both Breno and Edward about flames during those three days without fights. Actually, she just wanted to ask Edward about it as she believed it was a clue to understanding his powers, but so he wouldn't notice her intentions she also asked Breno. Still, Saber, who seemed annoyed by her presence, didn't let her pry too much.

Normally she wouldn't let a Servant treat her like that, but she didn't want to get into a fight with the Hellhound, at least until he gave her all the answers she was after.

The two agreed that their flames were fueled not only by magic power but also by the feelings and will of the user. Rage, happiness, hate and so on were all feelings that made the flames stronger. Magical power was also important, since emotions and magic were two parts of the art. One could only get themselves to a certain point using but one of them. With only one, the user would always find a wall blocking their path, a wall they would be unable to overcome, but utilizing them together, they could go beyond the limits.

When Kirsche heard this, she thought it was nonsense, but after comparing Tokiomi and the flames of the two magi of her faction, she couldn't deny that maybe there was a hint of truth.

She walked up to him and looked at him with cold eyes.

"Was it worth it? To choose magic over family, to choose to be a magus before being a parent?"

Tokiomi didn't answer as he finally collapsed. She sighed in disappointment and saw how Thor fell into the street and the King of Heroes fell to his knees, neither able to continue. Kirsche had Thor take on spirit form and decided to leave Tokiomi as he was—at least for now.

It wasn't an act of kindness, he deserved to suffer more and there were more pressing matters at hand. In other words, he wasn't worthy of her time. She had already bested him, so she could kill him whenever she wanted.

* * *

Kairi was really beginning to wonder if the brat in front of him was human or not, he was faster than any other he had seen but he couldn't feel any magic coming from him.

He fired off his shotgun once again. He didn't use actual bullets, though. As a necromancer, he used fingers, mixing with them the concepts of a curse, the strength of a firearm and his powers. Such a deadly combination ended up shooting subsonic projectiles. Still the young Master managed to dodge them, even though barely.

Leo used this short opportunity to close the distance between the two. Kairi answered by reloading his shotgun, but he wouldn't finish in time. Instead of attacking him, he passed by Kairi's side and punched the golem that appeared behind him. Kairi was surprised, and after he finished reloading, he shot at another golem in front of him.

"It seems we have some visitors, my good sir."

Kairi was a practical man. It wasn't worth it to fight Leo and the golems at the same time. Helping each other out increased their chances of surviving.

"Yeah brat, let's finish with them first."

As they prepared themselves, they saw their Servants land nearby.

"Hey master, I will go fight with that monster over there. You don't mind, do you?" Mordred said with a grin, leaving before Kairi could answer.

"I don't get why she didn't wait. I wouldn't go even if she paid me."

Gawain was silent but Leo understood what he wanted to do.

"You are free to go Gawain, I will be fine."

"Thank you, my lord." Gawain bowed and followed Mordred.

The two knights jumped across the buildings. Neither liked the other and in any other situation they would just ignore the monster and continue their fight, but they could see its power was great and Gawain couldn't let it roam free to threaten his king. Mordred knew he wouldn't fight seriously, so she gave up for the moment. They could always continue later.

They moved through the city destroying whatever golems there were along the way until they arrived in front of the being that used to be a Servant. But in between them hundreds of terrible, twisted creatures appeared, blocking their path.

The two knights were ready, but a rain of blades came out of nowhere, killing a great amount of the horrors. They turned and saw Arturia along with Shirou.

The three knights didn't know how to react, but before any of them could speak they heard a roar, and a black-armored knight covered by mist appeared with his Master, Kariya.

"So you also came, Lancelot…" Arturia said with a sad smile

The crimson and silver knights were surprised at her statement.

"There is no time for explanations. But it seems we have a common goal."

Mordred laughed dryly.

"You better not get any funny ideas, 'Father.'" She spat at the word.

Gawain remained silent, but he knew Mordred was right. The trust between all of them was broken, the friendship that used to bond them replaced by hate.

"We used to be the Knights of the Round Table. All of us vowed to fight for the people," Arturia began. "I ask you all, not as a king but as a fellow knight, to fight together one last time."

Berserker looked at Arturia, about to attack her.

"By my Command Spell," said Kariya, "I order you Berserker to support your fellow knights and destroy that monster."

Berserker stopped and the mist disappeared and even as the helmet remained, Berserker revealed the mighty holy blade he had used in life.

Arturia put her sword in front of them as if she were waiting for their answer.

Berserker joined her with his black blade, Arondight.

Gawain was next and put in his Galatine.

"Don't misunderstand, Arturia, all this is to protect my king."

Mordred glared at them. She really didn't belong to that group, but she couldn't deny that she was happy being a knight.

"I guess there are too many distractions here to fight any of you," she said with a sigh as she placed her Clarent along with the other three holy swords.

For the first time in many centuries the strongest knights had reunited once again. They would ignore the hate they felt for each other, and the four swords separated by fate came together in order to fulfill an ancient oath: to protect the innocent and slay all evil.

"Get ready, Caster! Can your madness withstand the blades of the Knights of the Round Table?!" Arturia yelled as the four pointed their swords at the monster.

* * *

What are those idiots doing?" Ginevra said darkly as she used her viewing sphere to watch as the battle continued between Kage, Kiritsugu, and everyone else. "There's a True Demon on the loose, and they're still playing around? Idiots…!"

She summoned her staff and gestured to the monster summoned by Caster of Zero. "True Demons are supposed to be undefeatable by Humans…" she muttered before smiling. "…but I'm not completely Human. Let's give it a shot."

Once more the sky lit up behind her, the magic circles that generated her beams slightly angled to allow the beams to converge into a single, ravening lance of power. "Fire…" she whispered, and multiple beams seared out and focused into one struck the monster…and Ginevra's eyes widened in shock.

The beam carved into its target, but the monster managed to adapt and disperse the beam energy before it could penetrate too deeply. Waves of energy rippled outwards from the wound, scorching and burning the monster's flesh, but as the afterglow faded, Ginevra could see the wound and the burns beginning to heal. "…impossible…" she whispered in disbelief. "…that was A-rank High Thaumaturgy with a conceptual weight over three thousand years old…"

As if provoked by the attack, reality rippled around the monster, and its brood began to swarm outwards into the city. Ginevra ground her teeth in anger. "…don't get above yourself, monster!" she spat, and she hurled her staff down to the ground at a point where the ley-lines were the closest to the surface.

The bladed tip punched deep into the ground, and a moment later Ginevra landed hard on the ground beside it. The earlier battle with the Servants had drained her prana reserves considerably, and while it wasn't dangerous – yet – she would need some more to fight a True Demon and its spawn.

Snarling out a command, the ground shuddered before the ley-lines flashed brightly for an instant as the magus drained its mana dry without care for the long-term effect it would have on the land's spiritual welfare. Ginevra grabbed her staff and pulled it out of the ground, but turned as she felt someone approach from behind her: a purple-haired and purple-eyes girl dressed modestly in modern casual attire, looking at her with surprise and a little fear. "You look familiar…" Ginevra said distractedly, her mind focused on fighting the demonic army. "…we can talk later…if there's a later that is."

With those parting words, Ginevra soared back up into the sky as storm clouds began to gather and thunder rumbled. Sakura stared after her, feeling a strange sense of curiosity, familiarity, and strangely-enough, envy. In the shadows Zouken and Assassin also did likewise, while on the rooftop Caster looked up at the gathering storm with a perplexed expression. "That girl wasn't a Servant…" she said offhandedly to Kuzuki. "…but this storm…if it wasn't a Noble Phantasm, then she must have used Divine Words to summon it. But…that's not possible for modern magi…isn't it?"

* * *

The knights reunite once again against a demon. Just to clarify Thor against Gilgamesh end in a draw. Well not mutch to say in this chaper except make your bids on the winners and Please Review.


	18. Chapter 17 Path

Chapter 17 Path

As Kirsche continued to teleport through the city, she saw a pillar of flames go up at its heart. She recognized the owner and sighed. Even while tempted to let him be, she was also curious. Maybe she could finally get her answers.

When she arrived to the scene, she found a destroyed street, no surprise there, along with the Hellhound and his Servant fighting the same gladiator they almost defeated three days ago. She saw how Berserker smashed him into the floor and dashed at Saber, just to be stopped by crimson chains. She understood that part of his power: he used projection and reinforcement to give form to his flames. When she saw the chains begin to burn the skin of the gladiator, she was impressed, as he managed to keep the fire attribute after giving them shape.

Saber used the delay to slash the gladiator while running past him and grabbing her master, who was on his knees. Berserker broke the chains and prepared to run at them once again, but was buried in rubble as a blurring array of wires ripped apart the ground beneath him. An old-fashioned trap, but perfect for mindless barbarians who did nothing more than charge from the front.

Edward and Nero were both breathing heavily. They had been fighting the giant for a while and just like last time nothing they did appeared to affect him enough. The fact that Nero was tired from her fight with Arturia didn't help. In moments like these she cursed the fact that the use of her Noble Phantasm was limited to just one per day, as it drained a great amount of her prana.

"Do you need a hand, Hellhound?"

Edward turned and saw Kirsche appear out of nowhere. He wanted to say many things, but he knew he didn't have the time.

"Free of charge? Coming from you, I didn't believe that was possible," he said with a weak grin.

"Who said anything about being free? It will be considered an expensive favor, so I think I can demand whatever I deem fair."

Edward laughed at her statement and Saber glared at her. It was obvious she didn't trust Kirsche.

"I really prefer the Sakura of my world, she was cuter," he said as he took a deep breath and saw the giant about to break out from the rubble Kirsche had buried him in. "Keep him still for ten seconds and I will show you two very interesting things."

Kirsche raised an eyebrow and looked at him for a moment before smiling.

"You manage to catch my interest, Hellhound. I shall give you ten seconds, but be warned that if what you show me isn't worth it, I shall demand something else."

"Whatever you say… Sakura."

At that moment, Spartacus pulled himself clear, only to be buried in rubble, again.

Edward smiled at this and decided to pay his part of the bargain. His arm began to glow, and Saber stared at him, concerned.

"I will be fine, don't worry."

"You better be. If you die, I will kill you."

He just smiled at her words.

"Never forget you were born of flames

Forsaken by heaven, cursed by hell

Yet I shall never regret my path

As I stand in Limbo, let my sins burn

Let this hell be my kingdom

Let my flames judge them all

Rise, my sanctuary of flames: Crimson Purgatory!"

Silver, black, and crimson circles of flame appeared around him. The three rings began to expand until they engulfed both Kirsche and Berserker as well.

The flames forced Kirsche to briefly close her eyes, but when she opened them they widened in surprise. She saw hell, a very familiar yet different hell. It was just like that fire ten years ago: the hell in which her destiny had changed, the place where the man who saved her had learned the hollowness behind his ideal and taught him to cherish what little he had left.

"Impossible… a Reality Marble...?" she asked as she looked at the Hellhound.

"No, this place isn't my inner world. It's just the product of being unable to forget."

"I see…" She recovered from her surprise. "…So you are also a survivor."

Kirsche had to admit, it was fitting for him. Instead of a world made of swords like Emiya or a world cold as steel like the one her brother Silber had, it was a world created from fire, a world that could only exist for the hound which watched over hell itself.

She looked around and realized the space was divided between the three flames. She was standing with Edward and Saber on the crimson part. To the left, there were destroyed houses and she could see the shadows of people burning, all the while calling for help that never came, as the black flames swallowed them whole. She looked to the right and saw houses that were intact but still engulfed by silver flames. It was like the underworld, heaven, hell and purgatory, and she couldn't help being impressed by the sight, a very interesting thing to see.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a mad roar, and she turned to see Spartacus coming at them with his sword in hand. Edward looked at him as silver and black flames appeared in order to stop the giant.

"Then this is the second interesting thing I will show you, Kirsche," he said, looking at her. "Be grateful. Usually I'm the only one allowed to see her like that."

Kirsche did not quite understand his words, but Edward continued.

"By my Command Seal I order you, Saber, to unleash your power: Imperial Privilege!"

Saber smiled at his command.

"Alright Praetor, in response to you showing me your beautiful flames, I shall show you all my power."

Her dress disappeared and was replaced by golden Roman armor with a red mantle over the shoulder. This was the final weapon she had at her disposal, her true form as a Saber. According to legend, her mother had poisoned her since childhood. After her mother died, she took the antidote with her to the grave, so since that day she was afflicted with headaches. Those headaches didn't let her live up to her full potential, so this ability was born.

It was in exchange for a Command Seal and only after using Aestus Domus Aurea that this ability could be unleashed.

Saber stood alongside her Master and pointed her blade at Spartacus, who had just finished breaking through the wall of flames.

"Saber, I can only maintain this place for ten minutes, so let's finish this quickly."

Saber nodded, and so the two Servants clashed. Kirsche teleported to one of buildings on the silver side to watch the spectacle.

* * *

On the buildings near the monster, the sound of clashing steel could be heard. Kousuke could barely keep with Kirei's speed and strength. He jumped back, trying to avoid another slash coming at him. When he landed, he saw three cuts on his chest over his kimono.

"All you got, Master of Caster?" Kirei asked with a smirk.

Kousuke sighed. It couldn't be helped. His eyes turned bright red, with three black mitsudomoe encircling the pupils. Kirei was about to dash again, but the next moment Kousuke, who was in front of him, disappeared. Kirei moved on reflex and turned with his Black Keys raised, barely able to block Kousuke's sword.

"Kyoka no magan," Kousuke said in a whisper.

Before Kirei could counterattack, Kousuke disappeared once again. After activating his eyes, he was now ten times stronger and faster. He moved around unleashing a series of high speed attacks on the priest, who couldn't block them and received cuts all over his body. He was still avoiding fatal blows, only by a narrow margin.

On the other hand, Kage and Kiritsugu were pretty much even. The two were very similar, to the point neither could anticipate the movements of the other. Both ran at each other while shooting everything they had and dodging the barrage of bullets coming at them.

While doing this, they finally passed each other. The moment they realized it, both turned and pointed their Calicos at the face of the opponent. The one who manage to pull the trigger first would win and the other would die, simple as that. When they did, no bullets came out. Both discarded their semi-automatics and said the name of the spell only the two of them could use.

"Time Alter!" Hearing the young man recite the same spell surprised Kiritsugu. "Double Accel."

Kage didn't seem terribly astonished. He knew this magic wasn't his own since it had been given to him by the Association. He didn't know the owner of the crest that was implanted in him nor did he care. Just like Kiritsugu, he only saw magic as a tool for his jobs. Their eyes met as they began a high-speed fight, Kage wielding his wrist knives while Kiritsugu took out his knife and readied his Contender.

Kousuke stopped for a second to catch his breath. He still hadn't recovered from all the damage he received earlier and the stress of using Crimson Red Vermillion. He prepared to continue, but when he looked for the priest, he was directly in front of him.

Kirei had discarded Black Keys, and his strategy was simple. If he couldn't catch the enemy, he just wouldn't give him any chance to move. Kousuke could stand his ground thanks to his eyes, but the speed at which the priest moved was insane. He managed to find a space between his attacks and decided to thrust his katana in order to stop the priest's movements.

This was all a diversion. The moment Kousuke put his sword out, Kirei stopped it with his bare hands a few inches before it pierced his chest. Kousuke was surprised, and before he could react, he felt a foot over his chin, and the kick sent him flying as he let go of his sword.

"Goshujin-sama!" Caster yelled in concern.

Before she could go to his aid, a black blade came straight at her neck. She knew very well that even a graze from such a sword could kill her. She stopped it once again with her mirror and stared the black Saber in the eye.

"And I thought that useless Saber was annoying!" she said, trying to push her away, but it was futile. Saber of Zero was stronger and her magic resistance didn't help matters either. "I don't have time to waste with you!"

A whirlwind appeared around Caster, knocking Saber back. As soon as she landed she was ready to go once again, but hesitated upon seeing the great amount of prana coming from her opponent. She was now surrounded by a purple light with her nine tails behind her, her mirror continuing to levitate.

Both Caster of Blue and Ginevra, who were exterminating the horrors, had to stop after feeling such magical power, which they recognized as the power of a goddess. No, that would be a mistake, it was very close: the closest a Servant could be to a god.

Caster knew it very well, the ancient goddess of the sun that ruled over Japan during the Age of the Gods. She couldn't believe it.

"Amaterasu…"

Kirei was sent flying by the whirlwind created by Caster's power. The priest took a hard fall, and then he saw the Servant at her Master's side handing him his sword. That power was something Kirei hadn't seen before. It was Tamamo-no-Mae's Noble Phantasm, Eightfold Blessings of Amaterasu: Yata no Kagami. It increased her magical power alone beyond the usual limits, passing Rank Ex by far. Now Saber's magical resistance had been rendered useless, and the two could know fight on level ground. Still, such power only lasted ten minutes, and then she wouldn't be able to use it for another three days.

"Now, ready for round two, Saber?" she said with a smile.

* * *

Kage's Assassin stopped shooting at Assassin of Zero for a while after feeling such power as he landed on a nearby building.

"Damn, it's as if that man can't miss no matter what," one of the many Assassins said while standing there.

Assassin smiled, his real identity being Balthasar Gerard, the assassin who killed William the Silent following the orders of King Philip II. His ability with the musket was such that in a range of twenty-five meters, he would always hit the target.

The Assassins began to surround him, ready to use their numbers to bring him down. Balthasar has only managed to kill two of them and he had run of ammo. He had cuts on his arms and face as a result of their daggers. It was a good thing he was the kind of man who always had a plan.

"King Killer: Death of the Future Monarch," he said as a fountain of shadows appeared around him and turned into spiked blades, attacking his enemies.

This was his true Noble Phantasm, the manifestation of all his planning and skill as an assassin, all the preparations he made in order to kill his target.

* * *

Back with the knights, even working together they couldn't reach the monster. No matter what, more and more of its demons kept standing in the way. The situation only got worse from there. Immediately after the gathering of the knights, the monster began its rampage.

"At this rate, it will destroy the entire city before we can take care of it," Gawain said as he slew another demon.

As those words left his mouth, a silver comet and many projectiles appeared and assailed the monster. Arturia and Shirou recognized them and couldn't help but smile at the backup.

And they weren't alone either. Two chariots rose into the sky, one ridden by a pharaoh, the other by Waver and his Rider, standing against a monster beyond the circles of the world.

"Knights of the Round Table…! We'll buy you time, so use it to finish this!" Iskandar thundered from his bull-drawn chariot.

"King of Conquerors…" Arturia said as she and the other three knights continued their fight to reach the True Demon.

Ginevra saw all this from the sky, and she knew that those holy swords were the only ones capable of destroying such a demon. But she was no fool, she knew all the knights besides Lancelot were exhausted, and at this rate they would use all their reserves before reaching the target.

"It seems we are the only ones free, Supervisor."

She heard a familiar voice and turned to look at its source.

Breno was standing on air, having created barriers under his feet and releasing his flames to suspend himself in the sky.

She sighed as she wondered what the others could be doing. Medea flew to join her, having realized the danger of the situation.

"Judging from all this, it looks like that thing will kill the knights and everything will be lost, wouldn't you agree?" Medea asked Ginevra.

"That is the most likely outcome," she concurred with her mother's counterpart. "Assistance in controlling the lightning storm would be most appreciated."

"Using an area-of-effect spell over which you don't have complete control…?" Medea said with amusement. "A tad reckless, I would say."

"Technically this spell was originally designed as static defense for the Etemenanki," Ginevra replied defensively. "I can hardly be blamed if an untested battlefield modification is a bit… unreliable."

Medea laughed. "The Etemenanki…? How ambitious… I approve. Your mother should be proud."

Ginevra smiled.

"You have no idea," she said softly as she raised her staff and lightning flickered across the clouds above.

Medea also raised her staff, and energy cascades erupted across the sky.

"When Souichirou-sama and I have children of our own," she returned," I shall speak of you to them."

Breno didn't fully understand their plan, but dove regardless and unleashed his flames against the horrors that opposed the gathered knights.

The four knights were completely surprised by the sudden help, but before any of them could say anything, the two magicians of the Age of the Gods unleashed their power. Heaven and Earth were made one as blinding bolts of lightning fell like rain across the city, annihilating demons by the hundreds and leaving the ground and the surrounding ruins smoking and black.

In the next moment, explosions went off in front of them, a product of the cannons of a female pirate and the fists of a Chinese man.

"I came to pick you up and I found you almost killed us all," Rider of White said with a frown.

Assassin laughed humorlessly. "Can't be helped, it's just my luck."

Slowly but surely a path began to open. The rest of the Servants of the Blue Faction began to arrive.

* * *

On the other side of the city, Leo Wells and Odysseus could only describe their situation as a bad joke.

"I really need to change my Servant," Leo said, annoyed.

"Hey, it's not my fault! I never expected him to be here."

They landed on the street after dodging another attack from the man who had intercepted them after they stopped their fight with Bazett and Lancer when that monster appeared.

"Well, if it isn't my old friend Odysseus. I haven't seen you since the Trojan War."

"Achilles," Odysseus said with a grin as he looked at the green-haired Servant. "I would really love to speak about old times, but I have a very important date."

Achilles just grinned back at him.

"Come on, we haven't met in a long time and since this war began I haven't fought a decent opponent since that crimson Saber and her Master."

"I will kill that Hellhound when I see him later," Leo said with a sigh, realizing who the person he fought before was. "It seems we can't avoid this, Archer."

Achilles looked at the pair. They seemed a little worn out; Leo had lost his jacket and had blood dripping from his mouth and forehead.

In the next moment, Leo dashed at him and threw a punch, which Achilles blocked with his spear.

"I must admit, this fight will be fun. But I expected your Servant and not you, boy."

Odysseus jumped and shot two axes at him. The enemy Servant smiled at this and leapt back to block the projectiles.

"Well, my aim is second to none, and my Master is a very selfish person, so there's no way to stop him."

Leo then grabbed the two axes which had landed in front of him and launched them at Achilles. The Servant answered by swinging his spear to block the axes, but in doing so left himself with a small opening. A normal human wouldn't notice, but Leo wasn't what one would call normal.

He closed the distance between the two of them and kicked the Servant in the face with such strength that it sent him crashing into the wall of a nearby house.

Achilles was completely surprised. He had really underestimated the blond boy with the scar and never expected him to have so much power. Completely unfazed, he stood and looked at the pair with excitement.

"You're definitely not disappointing me!"

They got ready for him.

* * *

Back in the main battle, Arturia and her fellow knights had managed to reach firing range against the True Demon, even as their cover began to slacken. She couldn't deny that she expected it; so long as the True Demon remained manifest within the world, the flood of its brood was virtually infinite.

"Excalibur…" Gawain yelled as his blade began to glow. "…Galatine!"

"Gawain, stop…!"

He didn't listen to her, and his blade glowed like an orange sun before engulfing the True Demon and creating a gigantic explosion.

When everything died down, they saw that while the True Demon had been seriously injured, it only began to heal with impossible speed.

"What a tough bastard," Mordred said, looking slightly annoyed. "Tell me you have a plan, Arturia."

"Only the four of us combined can take it out. None of us have the strength alone to kill that thing."

The four knights raised their blades together and each began to glow with power: silver for Galatine, crimson for Clarent, gold for Excalibur, and black for Arondight.

At that very moment, the monster noticed their presence and the danger it presented and moved to attack, only for the lightning storm to rake its body with elemental fury.

"Hurry it up!" both sorceresses shouted.

At their words, one of the monster's tentacles lashed out at them, shattering their shields and sending the two flying. Kuzuki managed to catch Caster while Breno caught Ginevra.

The tentacle reared up along with several others and loomed over the knights.

"Rho Aias!" they heard a pair of voices shout, Shirou and Archer projecting their shield in order to protect the knights.

"How much longer…?" Archer yelled.

"Fifteen seconds!" Arturia called back.

Archer kind of expected such an answer, but they needed to hold it back no matter what, as their normal attacks would be utterly meaningless against such a monster. Their shield wouldn't last for long, but before the last petal of the shield broke, a gigantic black spear hurled the monster back.

"Kazikli Bey..." Lancer of Black said in a whisper while watching the ordeal from a nearby building. His attack gave the knights enough time to finish charging their weapons.

The four stood as one.

"Ex…"

"Clarent…"

"Excalibur…"

"Aron…"

Shirou and Archer moved out of the way and all present could not deny the power and grandeur of the four holy swords united behind one purpose.

"…Calibur!"

"…Blood Arthur!"

"…Galatine!"

"…dight!"

The four swords unleashed beams of energy of their corresponding colors that converged upon the being that used to be Gilles de Rais, banishing the True Demon back into the void.

* * *

On the other side of the city, Atosaki and Caules had managed to protect the people and eliminate the golems of the area.

The three Servants were tired, each having destroyed at least fifty golems each.

Caules walked up to Berserker and patted her on the head.

"Good job, Berserker," he said with a smile.

Berserker couldn't say it, but she really loved her Master's smile, just as much as she hated his sister. In her eyes, she was nothing but a source of suffering. She had suffered rejection during her life, but her Master didn't seem to mind at all. But that girl had decided to reject him, not even worrying about his feelings.

In the small time they had spent together, she came to know her Master as a kind and simple boy. He didn't seem to care much about her legend, he never treated her like a monster, so in her eyes he didn't deserve to suffer, and she wouldn't forgive anyone who dared to hurt him. It was a shame she couldn't express this to him.

Atosaki stood with Lance, a little worried because he seemed exhausted and had wounds all over his body from protecting her and others.

"Please be careful. You don't need to push yourself so hard," she said, looking at him fretfully.

His response was something she didn't expect. He hugged her in a way that reassured her he was alright. She really wanted to enjoy this moment, but it was cut short by a cough coming from Rider of Black, making her realize they weren't alone.

The two separated and while Lance didn't seem to understand, Atosaki was blushing from embarrassment. The paladin just laughed and walked up to her.

"It was a pleasure to fight alongside such a fine lady," he said with a small bow. "As we said before, we won't attack you, Mademoiselle Atosaki."

The paladin's smile made Atosaki blush even more. She could hardly believe he was actually male, but Caules told her he was. On the other hand, the paladin's words made Lance feel uneasy and slightly agitated.

Atosaki was about to reply when she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. Caules and Berserker turned to bid farewell to Atosaki, but Caules' eyes widened in horror the moment he saw what had happened.

"Rider! What are you doing?!"

In that moment, the paladin realized it. He raised his head and saw blood coming from his blade, having just stabbed into Atosaki.

* * *

Next Chapter is the final chapter of this first part as i need time to continue my other stories. Thanks for the support and wait for the next season


	19. Chapter 18 Separation

I don't own any characters except my own OC. The other OCs appearing in this story are property of the following authors:

Deux Silences - Atosaki Kurokawa

Suchbass - Kage

Nomorenamesleft - Yagami Kousuke

Count Valerian - Kirsche Von Einzbern.

Topographic Ocean - Breno Da Roche

AzarielKayras - Leo Wells

I thank you for lending them to me. Now, to the story!

* * *

Chapter 18

The last thing he remembered was being devoured by his own monsters. After that, everything went black. He remained there, lying in the darkness, not knowing if he was dead or alive. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, he couldn't feel; he just drifted. The man known as Gilles de Rais could be considered a man with a very sad fate.

His madness was a product of pain, of betrayal. He believed God had forsaken him. After all, he saw the god he had served and believed in abandon the girl he appointed to fight in his name. He really loved Jeanne, but it wasn't an average love. He saw in her everything he wasn't. She had led him and many others in battle and, though many were lost, they managed to achieve victory. He saw how she had sacrificed her youth and body for France.

It wouldn't be wrong to say he considered her more of a savior than any god. But that was the very reason he couldn't help but hate God. If a girl who had sacrificed so much could burn to ashes while being considered a witch, what about him?

This realization grew, and with it grew his hate. He couldn't understand the justice, or lack thereof, and God's will behind her death. If there was someone in his eyes who deserved heaven and respect more than any other, it was her.

As he continued to wallow in the darkness, a light illuminated everything. Such a bright light, he couldn't see anything, but he didn't care if he was in light or darkness. Either way he was on his own. He closed his eyes, ready to simply be there.

"I'm sorry, Gilles."

A voice he recognized very well spoke.

In that moment, he began to slowly open his eyes. He saw the blue sky, but there were no clouds. Apparently he was still alive, but he couldn't feel his arms or legs. He would normally wonder about it, but he was too tired, and he began to believe her voice had been just an illusion. After all, she was the only person who didn't need to ask for forgiveness.

As he was about to close his eyes once again, he felt something wet fall on his face. He was barely able to move his head, but it was enough to tilt it a few inches to the left to see the face, full of tears, of the young woman he had once followed.

After the destruction of the demon by the hands of the Knights of the Round Table, Ruler, who stayed hidden in order to keep her existence a secret, not only for the other contestants but for the Counter Guardians, decided to appear.

It was the least she could do. She hadn't been there when he lost himself, she couldn't help that he turned into that thing; she wasn't even there to prevent him from causing all that destruction.

So at least she could be there in order to fulfill the last wish of a man she considered almost a brother, to at least be there to say goodbye. After the battle ended and the Masters began to leave the area, she moved at great speed, avoiding everyone's eyes. This was only possible because the Servants were too exhausted to even consider being alert in a moment like this.

It took her a couple of minutes, but she finally found what remained of the body of Gilles. She knew about the acts he had committed after her death, all the killing and the sins, but she also knew how desperate he was, how he tried to save her when everybody else gave up. She grabbed his body and took him to the roof of a building a small distance away.

She put his head in her lap and called his name. The man didn't open his eyes. She continued to call him.

"What's wrong, Gilles? You usually woke up right away when I called you," she said with a sad smile.

Tears began to well up in her eyes. She couldn't help but feel sadness. After all, her death had driven him to madness, and even when he was responsible for his own actions, she started to think it was also her fault.

"I'm sorry… Gilles."

She couldn't stop her tears anymore.

"Why … are you… apologizing?"

A voice stopped her sobs.

She looked down and found he had opened his eyes. There were so many things she wanted to say, but she just couldn't.

"You… saved me… Jeanne," he said while looking at the sky.

"I didn't!" she yelled back. "I couldn't protect any of you. I disappeared and left you all alone!"

"Still…those times… were the happiest… in my life," he said as a smile formed on his lips. "So… don't cry."

Gilles' words were true. At her side he managed to find peace, a feeling that had eluded him since birth, and for that he was thankful.

His vision became blurry, and he knew he was going to disappear. But he'd seen her once again, once more, so in his mind it wasn't so bad. Still there were so many things he wanted to tell her, but it wasn't possible. As he felt himself vanish he closed his eyes and for the first time since her death he prayed.

He prayed that this time, that girl could be happy, that the tears she cried for him would be the last ones she needed to shed for anyone, and that someday in the distant future he'd meet her again.

Jeanne saw him begin to disappear.

"Wait! Please, I need to talk to you!"

He didn't answer and just closed his eyes.

"Gilles!"

At her scream he murmured a few words that made her cry like never before.

"Thank you… Jeanne."

Finally he disappeared, and maybe he could become free, but that didn't stop her tears. She cried so hard that her screams could be heard all around.

Ginevra watched this for afar. Normally she would be angry that Jeanne disobeyed her orders, but she also understood she couldn't deny this opportunity to either of them. The world had already refused to give those two a real goodbye, and to do the same would mean becoming like that and this was something she wouldn't do no matter what.

She turned and saw Rider landing on the roof next to her, alongside Breno. To her surprise, Breno looked at Ruler and seemed annoyed.

Ramses felt curious about it and decided to ask as he made his chariot disappear.

"You seem angry, peon," he stated.

"You care?" Breno answered back.

"Watch your tongue, peon. I was just curious."

Breno remained silent for a few seconds while he continued looking at the woman crying on her knees.

"It's just… no woman should cry like that," he said as he turned his back to her and began to walk away.

Ramses was surprised by his answer.

"I agree with you, peon." The pharaoh started to follow his Master but then stopped. "You coming, Supervisor?"

Ginevra didn't answer and turned to follow the pair. After all, everyone had the right to grieve on their own.

* * *

Arturia and her knights looked at the space where the demon used to stand and saw that nothing remained.

None of the four spoke. Truth be told, none of them could remain standing for long. But their pride didn't let them fall.

Arturia turned to where Lancelot was standing, with his helmet still on.

"Lancelot…" She walked a few steps and tried to reach him.

She was a few inches away when the mist that had dissipated came back and wrapped itself around the lonely knight. He turned to face her for a second before disappearing.

"Lancelot!" she yelled.

"Let him be, Arturia," Gawain said while thrusting his sword into the ground to keep upright. "It's too late for that man to be saved."

"How can you say that!" she yelled, ignoring all the wounds she had.

"Shut up, will ya." Mordred decided to speak. "You really believed that after working together, we would forget everything else?"

Arturia wanted to reply, but she couldn't find the words.

"We can't go back to those days, 'Father,'" Mordred said as she turned to leave. "We are no longer knights united under your ideal. We are Heroic Spirits that seek to realize our own dreams. So be sure that the next time we meet, you know I won't let anything get in my way, and I will destroy you."

Mordred took a few steps before being hit by the exhaustion of using Clarent three times on the same day. She wouldn't let her father or Gawain see her falter, so she continued on and watched the other Servants and Masters leave the area. She walked to an alley and leaned against one of the walls. She was about to pass out when she felt something supporting her.

"You really are stubborn," Kairi said. "You could just turn into spirit form."

She looked to her right and found her Master. He seemed a little beat up but fine overall.

"Shut up," she said, tired.

"Let's go back."

After Mordred left, Gawain allowed himself to fall to his knees. While having the protection of the sun he couldn't get hurt, but the mana he received from Leo wasn't much and using Galatine twice had sucked him dry. Moreover, he didn't mind if the only witness to this was his former king.

"She is right you know." He spoke, making Arturia, who had been staring in the direction Mordred had gone, turn back to him. "A single battle can't mend all the hate we feel for each other."

"I… I know," she said, looking down.

"But I must admit that the four of us fighting again like we used to was nice," he said with a smile.

In that moment, Leo B. Harwey walked up to them. His orange jacket had been turned to shreds. At his side was Julius, as well as Rider and Assassin of White.

"It seems you are fine, Gawain," he said, smiling, as he helped him stand.

"Please… my king. I… can stand on my own."

Leo's smile grew wider.

"You did well Gawain."

"Thank you, my lord." He then turned to Arturia. "We shall meet again."

Saber was about to answer when all present felt an ominous power coming from somewhere nearby, a power both Gawain and Arturia recognized.

"Excalibur?" they said in unison.

* * *

A few minutes ago, steel clashed on steel as Saber of Zero and Tamamo continued their fight. In order to counter Saber's blade, Tamamo summoned an ancient katana with a very dark aura around it.

Saber could feel the great power coming from it, but she was a better swordsman. Tamamo's mirror, which acted as a shield, and her spells had to make up for her lack of skill.

Though they were even at the moment, the situation was still bad for Tamamo. She could only use her Noble Phantasm for two more minutes. She needed to land a hit with the sword. Just a graze was enough. Tamamo saw Saber coming at her and grit her teeth.

"Uzuyami!" she yelled as multiple tornadoes made of darkness appeared, all aiming at the black swordswoman.

Saber made a path for herself by cutting and dodging the tornadoes. She closed the distance between her and Tamamo, her speed something beyond this world. Tamamo originally thought she would be delayed by the tornadoes, but that wasn't the case.

In her eyes, Saber seemed like an unstoppable force, much like the Berserker they had fought back in their world. Saber was already in front of her with her blade, ready to strike.

Neither of the Servants had noticed that while they were fighting, the priest and the samurai continued their duel. Both were now exchanging blows at amazing speed. Kousuke had stopped using his eyes as he was almost running out of power. He had enough strength for one more spell. The Black Keys and the katana clashed with each other once again while their owners were now looking at each other in the eye.

Kirei was surprised. His Black Keys were about to break, but Kousuke's sword seem fine. Eventually it happened, what he predicted. His weapon broke, but instead of backing down, he used the momentum to connect what remained of its blades into Kousuke's abdomen. He didn't expect it to kill him, but it should slow him down and give him an opening. Kousuke coughed blood as he felt the jagged metal pierce his skin.

"You did well, boy," Kirei said with a smile.

To his surprise, Kousuke raised his head and smiled back at him.

"Yes. Yes I did," he said as he placed his left hand on the priest's chest. "Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!"

Blue lightning came forth and passed through the priest. Kousuke saw how Kirei was sent flying and how the energy that went through him was now aiming at the real target. He smiled before falling to his knees. Tamamo needed to use her sword, but to do so one had to spill the blood of the opponent. That was the only way the sword Muramasa could be activated.

To do that to such a Servant wasn't easy, and Tamamo needed a chance, so he gave it to her.

Saber saw the bolt coming at her. She knew it wouldn't hurt her, and that thinking went right along with Kousuke's plan. The lightning struck her, but she didn't feel any pain and got ready to cut down the Servant in front of her. But she felt somewhat slower, and in that moment she realized the lighting wasn't meant to hurt her using the electricity, but to paralyze her because of the static.

For someone like her that state would only last a second, but that was enough. Tamamo mentally thanked her master and swung Muramasa, cutting Saber in the stomach. She wanted to inflict more damage, but her armor was strong.

After receiving that damage and recovering from the paralysis, Saber raised her blade, but Tamamo's mirror stood in the way.

Tamamo pushed her back. Saber got ready to counterattack, but she never expected what was coming next. The sword Tamamo wielded was leaking purplish-red and black prana, pure power condensing around the goddess.

Saber's own blade began to glow in order to finish the fight.

"Ex…" she said, surprising Tamamo.

"So it was really you. I can't believe you became this," she said as she saw the dark light engulf Saber, unable to help but wonder what had happened to that holy sword. Then she swung the demonic weapon. "Get ready, Saber!"

"…calibur!" Saber answered back.

Two beams of light came from the swords. In a matter of seconds, the entire roof was consumed by darkness.

Neither of the two Servants backed down. Both put their very heart and souls into the attack. The power was such that both Kage and Kiritsugu stopped their fight. Kiritsugu had some cuts on his face, neck and arms, but nothing serious.

Kage on the other hand had a bullet in his left shoulder and was breathing heavily. He was looking at the man in front of him and couldn't believe he had managed to do this.

It was quite simple. The two were completely even, save for one thing: Kiritsugu had Avalon in his body. In other words, his body didn't have a limit. While Kage could barely keep up Double Accel, he could go beyond that. This was how he had managed to hit him.

While glaring, Kage understood one thing. The way he was now, he couldn't win against the Magus Killer.

"Time Alter." Kage heard him say. "Triple Accel."

He knew the opponent was now moving three times faster and that he wouldn't be able to dodge, but that didn't mean he would die. Kiritsugu saw the world around him move in slow motion as he moved behind Kage with his Contender, ready to shoot.

The reason he moved behind him was in order to make the bullet's direction unpredictable. But the moment the bullet left the barrel and time returned to normal, he saw Kage had turned to where he was standing with his left arm raised.

"Impossible." Kiritsugu couldn't say anything else.

He and Kage were alike. Kage knew he couldn't catch him and gambled everything on his next move. He reacted as if he were the person shooting. He moved his arm in order to intercept the bullet, and the moment he saw his knife connect with the projectile, he knew it was worth it.

Still this only allowed him to survive. His knife broke upon impact, but it managed to divert the bullet's path. It pierced his hand and went through left side of his arm. He lost his arm, but he managed to stay alive.

This act give him a chance, too. Completely surprised, Kiritsugu couldn't move, and Kage raised his right arm and threw his knife. The blade cut through Kiritsugu's arm, making him drop the Contender and lose his momentum. Both had lost an arm but Kiritsugu would eventually heal. Now he saw Kage take a small gun from his coat and aim at his head.

But before he could pull the trigger, a large-scale explosion erupted as Tamamo's slash overcame Excalibur. The only reason she managed to win was because of the cut she had landed earlier on Saber, and even so it was by a narrow margin, and she knew this wouldn't be enough to kill her.

The smoke of the explosion threw off Kage's aim and the moment it dissipated the two Masters from the Faction of Zero had disappeared.

Kage fell to his knees as a pool of blood began to form around him. He was about to pass out when Assassin appeared and supported him.

At the same time Tamamo, who had gone back to her normal form, ran to her master.

"Goshujin-sama!" she yelled, voice full of concern.

"Those two were insanely strong," Kousuke said, completely exhausted.

* * *

On Leo and Odysseus' end, things weren't going so well. No matter what they did, Achilles didn't seem to receive any wounds. This was the protection given by his mother, Thetis: Andres Amarantos. They had been hitting him with everything they had, but he just kept standing as if it was nothing.

"Stop underestimating us," Odysseus said with a tired grin.

"What are you talking about?" Leo asked.

"Leo, he is a Rider right?"

In that moment Leo understood and glared back at the Greek hero.

"He isn't even using his mount."

Achilles just laughed it off.

"Tell you what, if you manage to hurt me, I will use it," he said, grinning.

"Oh, I will do more than that. You just wait!" Leo said with a grin as well and ran at him.

Archer knew what to do. He took the pouch from his belt and opened it in order to unleash a great tornado over his old friend.

Achilles, focused on Leo coming at him, didn't notice the tornado coming at him. Odysseus knew him very well, how much of a monster he really was, and that even with his Master fighting beside him he didn't stand a chance. But that didn't mean he would give up. After all, he was a schemer.

The tornado engulfed Achilles and suspended him in the sky while the strength of the wind tried to rip him apart.

"That isn't it!" Odysseus yelled as he shot all fifteen of his arrows into the tornado. The axes, propelled by the air current, began to cut him.

The tornado began to taint itself in red but then suddenly, from inside, something destroyed it. Odysseus' eyes widened in horror as he saw Achilles floating in the sky like normal after receiving such an attack. The only wounds he had were shallow cuts that didn't seem to affect him too much.

"All you got, old friend?" he asked with a smirk.

"Will you shut up?

Achilles turned and saw Leo coming at him with his fist raised. He raised an eyebrow, not really understanding the reason behind the boy's actions, and that was a mistake. He lowered his guard just like at the beginning, assuming the blow wouldn't hurt him. In the next moment, Leo's fist began to glow, surrounded by pure energy.

The blond young man had used the current of the destroyed tornado to reach Achilles and before the latter could even react, he landed his fist on Achilles' face.

At first he didn't feel any pain, but suddenly he felt the space around Leo's fist distort and even when it should have been impossible to hurt him without any divinity, he had managed to do it.

"Sevdim Punch!" Leo yelled.

Achilles was sent flying and went through many buildings before crashing into the floor.

"Well, it seems I managed to hurt you," Leo said smugly.

The next moment, Odysseus grabbed him and began to run away.

"What are you doing, we…"

He didn't finish. He felt the murderous intent coming from where Achilles had landed. The worst part, it felt stronger than before.

"That guy..." Leo couldn't believe it.

"Let's leave, Leo. We are both tired after the fight against the woman and her Servant. The way we are now, we don't stand a chance."

Leo was about to retort, but he noticed Odysseus was clenching his fist in anger.

"I know how you feel, but he can't die just like that." He turned back to Leo. "Trust me. I have my own reasons to defeat him."

Near where the monsters had disappeared, Kariya lay in one of the alleys while enduring the pain of making Lancelot use his holy sword. He knew it would hurt, but it went beyond what he ever imagined.

As he remained there, a petite girl with white hair and a woman wearing a green dress found him.

"It seems we came across something very interesting. Don't you agree, Jack?" the woman asked.

The girl just nodded. Kariya didn't know what to expect. But being helped to his feet by the woman wasn't one of them.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you," she said.

Kariya remained silent as the three of them began to walk away.

* * *

Kirsche saw, very amused, how the fight between the Emperor and the Gladiator continued while also observing the power of that world. It was as if those flames were alive. They attacked the gladiator without Edward doing anything and formed shields around him and Saber in order to block the gladiator's attacks.

"You are quite the showman, Hellhound."

Another interesting thing was that Saber became stronger, as her attacks were now able to actually hurt the gladiator. They were turning the tide of the battle, but despite this the gladiator didn't seem to falter.

On the other hand Spartacus, though devoid of all reason, felt something wasn't right. He was fighting the oppressor but he wasn't able to win. He couldn't understand why he wasn't able to destroy her.

Their blades clashed, Nero's being filled by rage. She hated the gladiator in front of her, not because he was an enemy of Rome or that he had called her an oppressor—that was part of his twisted logic. But she hated him because he dared to lay his hands on her praetor more than once and forced him to summon this world.

She knew her master was almost at his limit, so she needed to finish this quickly. She dashed toward Spartacus and thrust her blade at his heart, but once it came a few inches away he grabbed the blade and using all his strength managed to stop it. Crimson and black flames rose behind him, burning his back, but the gladiator acted as if it was nothing.

Nero could not get her sword back and as she struggled, she saw his other fist coming at her, but a spectral hand stopped it. Seeing this she turned back.

"Praetor! It's enough, I can manage!" she said as she turned, and then saw him on his knees coughing blood.

Edward couldn't maintain the world for much longer, he could feel how everything was about to begin disappearing, but he couldn't just let her fight on her own. He prepared to put everything he had in the next attack. Flames began to surround him as he stood.

The spectral arm managed to push Spartacus away, and the next second the arm disappeared and was now over Edward holding a gigantic sword wrapped in in the tricolor flames with the crest of a hound on the blade.

The moment he lowered the blade, Spartacus' left arm was turned into ashes and left many marks on the Servant's left side. It seemed as if the very hound on Edward's shoulder had taken a bite.

"Crimson fang." he managed to say as his arm turned back to normal and the world began to crumble.

The sudden attack made Spartacus lose the grip he had over Nero's sword.

"Finish him Saber!"

"Fax Caelis!" she yelled as her blade wrapped itself in flames and thrust into Spartacus' heart.

The next moment Spartacus was engulfed by fire. For the first time they heard the giant yell in pain. Saber tried to pass through him, but she couldn't. That was Spartacus' Noble Phantasm, Crying Warmonger. With each strike, each time he felt pain, he became stronger. So at a moment like this, when he was about to die, he became even stronger than before.

"You damn beast!" Nero cried. "Just a little more!"

She put in more power, but the very muscles near his heart stopped her from inflicting a fatal wound. Suddenly, what little remained of that world came at her aid, and the flames stood as a support, pushing her forward.

"Disappear, Spartacus!" Nero yelled as she pierced his heart. At the very same time the fabricated world disappeared.

Nero's armor was replaced by her crimson dress. She turned and saw the gladiator on his knees, burnt to a crisp.

"Why?" the gladiator asked, now free from the madness. "I tried to eliminate an evil being who oppressed the weak and made people unhappy. Why was I defeated?"

Nero looked at him for a few seconds.

"I won't deny I was an emperor who inflicted pain upon many people and suffered an ugly end because of that," she said, walking past him, "but he is willing to accept me, to take my sins as his own, and more than anything he would be sad if I disappeared. Even if I must make the rest of the world suffer, that is something won't allow. He has suffered enough."

Spartacus began to fade as he looked her in the eye.

"You are quite the tyrant, Emperor," he said as he faded into nothingness.

Saber saw him disappear before turning and running to her master.

"Praetor!" she yelled as she supported him before he passed out. "You really pushed yourself too hard."

Kirsche teleported in front of them.

"I must admit, you really don't disappoint, Hellhound," she said with a smile. "Let's go back."

* * *

Atosaki couldn't understand why Rider of Black had stabbed her, and judging by the expression on his face, neither did he.

He removed the blade from her abdomen as she fell to her knees. It was a good thing she could heal herself, but she still lost a lot of blood. After seeing this, Lance rushed at the paladin with Gáe Bolg, defensive and full of rage, but an arrow blocked his path.

"It seems she isn't dead yet."

Caules heard a familiar voice. Both he and Berserker turned around.

"Celenike and… Fiore?" He couldn't understand. "What's happening?"

Fiore didn't say anything as Celenike kept pushing her wheelchair.

"Maybe you aren't as useless as we thought," said Celenike. "You managed to ambush an enemy Master."

"That's not it. We called a truce because the golems were going crazy!"

"Whatever the case, I've come to help you and make sure you deal with her."

"You forced Rider to stab her, didn't you?" he said while glaring back.

"So? What if I did?" She looked at him, amused by his anger. "Are you going to betray us and join that girl?"

"Ca...ules-san?"

He turned and saw a saddened Atosaki lying on the ground while Lance and Rider kept fighting.

"...Berserker! Go!" he yelled.

The bride rushed at the spearman and took him by surprise, hitting him with her mace so that he crashed into one of the nearby buildings. The next moment, she pounded it into the ground and lightning flew everywhere, knocking the building down on top of the Lancer.

Rider walked to the collapsed building and passed by Berserker, who murmured something only the paladin heard. He approached the rubble and thrust his sword into the spearman's back before returning to his master, all his cheerfulness gone.

"Don't you dare order me to do something like this ever again," he said, with such anger that Celenike just nodded.

"Lance!" Atosaki cried, uselessly trying to get up. Tears began to form in her eyes when she realized what had happened to him. It was all her fault, too.

"Stop it, Atosaki," Caules said without a hint of emotion.

"How... how could you! I trusted you!"

Now she was beginning to regret it. Trust was a foolish notion during times of war, but Atosaki wanted to believe there were still good people out there who deserved it. Despite the risks, she hoped she could give them a fair chance. The apocalypse from back home taught her to value life like that. This time, however, she went in too deep, dropped her guard too low, and the price to pay was heavy. Even though she'd gladly suffer the consequences herself, she never wanted for Lance to get hurt, or worse, killed. Her heart ached from guilt and her own stupidity.

Before Atosaki could say anything else, Caules hit her on the back on the neck and she lost consciousness. He stood and looked at the two from his clan.

"What are you waiting for, boy? Finish her," Celenike said.

"The Servant is gone. You saw Rider pierce his heart."

"I'm not sure. Show me proof."

Caules just sighed as he knelt in front of Atosaki and lifted her left hand. The Command Seals were gone.

"Happy now?"

Celenike walked up to them and realized the girl was still alive. Being stabbed in such a way should have killed her. She shifted her a little and saw the wound on her stomach was gone.

"Change of plans, we are taking her with us."

Chiron went and lifted the girl over his shoulder, and they began to leave. Rider passed by while glaring at him.

"You disappoint me, Chiron," he said as he turned back to spirit form. The Archer didn't answer.

"Caules…" Fiore moved her wheelchair to where her brother was standing.

"Don't say anything, Lady Fiore," he said while looking straight at her.

Fiore froze when she saw his eyes. They were dead, and she wasn't the only one who noticed. Berserker was also scared and worried about her master. Caules didn't say any more and began to walk away.

"Let's go back, Berserker."

Berserker of Black looked at his back as he continued to walk. She knew he wasn't alright. Being with those people was slowly breaking him, and she couldn't do anything. A single tear fell down her cheek before she followed him.

Fiore also watched him, guilt eating her heart, but it was too late to fix anything. Once again she had betrayed him. She couldn't help but laugh upon realizing that Berserker, a being he had just met a couple of days ago, seemed to understand him better than her.

"I'm sorry Caules."

* * *

Back at the mansion of the sixth faction, everyone had managed to return and were being given first aid by the maids—almost everyone. They kept waiting for Atosaki. A few hours passed and Leo, Kousuke and Edward couldn't shake the bad feeling they had.

The six Masters along with Ginevra were in the living when all of them felt something. During the three days of rest, Atosaki had given the others stones engraved with the tracking rune. They took out the rune stones and were surprised when each one of them cracked.

"This isn't good," Ginevra commented.

In that very moment, Lance burst through the door. He was battered and bloody and it seemed he could barely remain standing. The present Masters saw this, shocked, and they understood what had happened.

"Atosaki-san," Edward said in a whisper.

* * *

Servants Remaining : 38

Masters Remaning: 37

Counter Guardians Remaining : 5 (counting Ruler)

* * *

Editor: Just wanted to applaud spiderrock for a job well done. Honestly, whenever I see a new chapter it makes my day. Thanks to the readers as well for joining in on the adventure. ^^

Alright! This is the end of the First Season! Im not sure yet when i will continue the next one but i will. Still Atosaki is in the hands of the black faction and Kariya manage to met a Assasin of please review and any idea you have for the next season is welcome. I thank all the authors of the OC that help me with this so please Review!


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